I want to be that person

Only once did I move into a brand new house and start my yard from scratch. Otherwise, I’ve always moved into a place with established vegetation. When I moved into my current home, the backyard was a jungle. I don’t know why I didn’t take photos so I could show you before and after, but believe me, it was bad. I had major trees and branches removed so the sun could shine through. The yard itself was such a mess that a crew with a backhoe came in and removed everything on the ground so I could start over. Before they did this, I went all around digging up bulbs, mostly daffodils and irises, which I replanted then in the front yard.

I replaced the cracked concrete on my patio with pavers, which are now framed by my flower garden. The first spring I discovered that I had to enlarge the garden in a few places because lilies were forcing their way up out of the ground beyond the border to the flower bed that I had established. How they had survived the demolition, I’ll never know.

Their vibrant orange flowers usually appear right around Memorial Day. I had no part in planting them and don’t have a clue who did. Someone did the hard work and left them behind for an unknown person in the future to enjoy. I have no idea how they came to be planted in my yard or why. I don’t even know if the one who put them there ever had the opportunity to enjoy them.

Although most years come and go and I admire this gift of life without any appreciation for the person who gave it to me, today I’m thinking that I wish I knew whom to thank. How can I thank someone who has gone before me, leaving a thing of beauty for me to enjoy, when I have no idea who they were? The only way that makes any sense to me is to leave beauty in my own wake for those who come after me--the ones who will never bother to thank me, and couldn't even if they wanted to because they won't ever know who I was. 

Yes, I want to be that person.