Bundles of Tulips
After school one day, I went out to the field to help Mom harvest tulips. The air was fresh, and the evening sun blinded my eyes. Mom was already harvesting the vast rows of tulips; they were thick and green, with little pops of color tucked between the leaves. I went to ask what she needed, and she decided to set me up at the white tables to bundle the tulips. She set a black crate of tulips on the table, and I hurried over and grabbed a handful of rubber bands.
When I was set, she explained to me step by step how to bundle them. First, bundle them into groups of 10. Then, pair the long and short stems. Lastly, keep them with their variety. So, I took her directions and got started.
As I worked, I watched Milly and Yoder chase each other around the yard and listened to the spring birds singing as I counted in my head: 1…2…3… all the way up to 10. Over and over again, I sorted piles, matched them by variety, and set aside the ones that didn’t quite make a full bunch of ten tulips.
As the sun slowly went behind the mountains, a chill crept into the air that I hadn’t felt after a few straight weeks of warm weather. I rushed inside, grabbed my favorite Patagonia sweater, and then went back to work. Mom kept bringing more tulips, and I kept bundling; matching, wrapping, and stacking. The harsh light softened, and the whole world turned shades of pink and gold as the clouds lit up in the sky.
I was finishing up the last bunch when Mom stopped for a moment to check the covered rows of ranunculus, while Daddy was nearby prepping some rows. I heard him yell out, “Hey, there’s a pink poppy over here!”
Mom went over to the next row, picked it, and immediately started taking pictures of it for stories. Meanwhile, I finally finished a full crate of bundled tulips, with extras lying across the table.
I told her I was done, so she started placing the bundles into buckets of water. Then she handed me the pink poppy. I told her she could keep it, but she insisted that I have it.
As I held it in the fading light, the glow shone through the petals, making it almost look lit from within. It brought up feelings of summer, fields filled with bursting, beautiful flowers and buzzing bees.
As the sky grew darker, I took the poppy inside and placed it in my little vase of tulips I had already made for myself. Standing there, looking at it, I realized I was ready for the busy summer ahead. With long days and beautiful flowers that come with it.
