This spring we had lovely poppy flowers show up in our garden. “How did they get there?” I wondered. I vaguely remember planting a few patches of wildflowers that barely took hold in a few spots in the garden the year or two before. I fell in love with these beautiful orange blooms that kept popping up in random places.

As the days got longer and the flower petals fell, these long and skinny pods grew in their place. I got curious about these seed pods and learned how to save them and harvest the seeds. So all summer long I collected the biggest pods I could find and put them in a paper bag that I left to warm in the sun each day. Every few days I would open the bag and to my delight, the pods had popped and released the little black poppy seeds. By mid-summer I had collected over a cup of seeds.

I’m so excited to sprinkle these seeds in places that we would like to have more poppy flowers next spring. Now we wait for first the rain to help water them in.

Thinking about this, I had a lot of other metaphorical poppies show up in life during this pandemic. When I couldn’t work out at the gym, I modified my workouts to include more lap swimming and walks with my kids outdoors, both of which have continued on even as my gym has reopened. In terms of work, while I miss facilitating teams in person, I also treasure not having to leave my house at 6:00am to get somewhere predictably by 8:30. Virtual work does have its upsides!

Questions for reflection….

What showed up in your life (or your garden) this past year that brought you joy?

What surprised you?

What relationship do you want to nurture?

What do you want to keep or keep doing in the coming year?

What new ritual, practice or exercise has given you comfort?

What seeds from this past year are worth saving?