Tulip Watch

I am looking at a pot of tulips as I write.  I bought the pot at a grocery store on Sunday and immediately wondered if I had been ripped off.  One of the leaves looked like it had been in a battle with bugs and come out on the losing side.  I was not sure that it really had nascent flowers.

Today, I am sure.  There are at least 5 yellow tulips.

On Friday, I picked up a pot of purple tulips, but I wanted to put those in our cottage where my parents are staying during their week-long visit with us.  So on Sunday, I picked up the additional pot.  I'm wondering if these potted tulips will last longer than the bouquet that I bought back in Feb:

Later when the flowers are done, we will put the bulbs in the ground, but I don't expect to have the same kind of success that the Williamsburg gardeners enjoy:

I've been watching the progress of the flowers, as they move from an almost invisible swelling of leaves to full-fledged flowers.  I wonder if they will begin to droop as quickly as the cut flowers do.

My sister reminded me that her bridal bouquet was made up of white tulips.  I am also thinking of the tulips that we bought for my mother-in-law's funeral; we are at the 12 year anniversary of her death.

Yesterday I had a brief fear that we might be about to get similar news about my father-in-law with a cryptic message from my brother-in-law about having my spouse call to get an update about their dad.  But as hours passed, and we didn't get other phone calls, I figured that the news wasn't as dire as I first feared.

My father-in-law is in the hospital, with complications from a spider bite, but he's expected to be O.K.

In this time of spring holidays, with their accompanying flowers, it's hard not to be cognizant of the fact that we are here for a very brief time.  Are we blooming to our full potential?