Chaos is a normal part of daughter’s life

Only one more day of planting and the last of the flowers and vegetables should be in the ground. That is assuming that stray plants don’t hop into my shopping cart when I’m distracted by something else. It’s a little late to still be planting but time gets away from me.

The next thing on the agenda is to find a suitable present for my daughter’s birthday. If she lived closer I would have picked up an orchid or two at the garden fair yesterday in Muncie. She may very well get an orchid anyway as I can have them sent to her. I have ordered from that vendor in the past and been very pleased.

As pretty as orchids are, I know that if I bring them to my own house they are doomed. Oh, sure, they will last a month or more but benign neglect doesn’t work on them and they will eventually die. My daughter, Beth, is the only person I know who can get them to live and re-bloom.

Beth accumulates people as well as orchids. Her nephew, Kristian, recently had surgery. His mom, Chrisie, had to go out of town for a few days immediately after Kristian got out of the hospital. Beth didn’t give Chrisie a chance to object and took Kristian home with her. The barely controlled chaos at Beth’s helped distract Kristian from the pain. I am assuming Kristian is back home by now.

Beth usually has assorted children roaming around her yard. Her nieces and nephews visit often. She keeps a wide range of clothing on hand as they seldom bring a change of clothes of their own. The decision for the extra kids to spend the night is usually a last minute one.

It boggles my mind that the chaos is a normal part of her life. Extra kids? No problem. Can’t find kids? Try the neighbor’s house. Sick kids? Nurse Beth will care for them. The children are expected to entertain themselves and work out disputes without adult intervention. As a result there are fewer cries of “Mo-om! Somebody won’t let me . . .” I have not once heard, “I’m bored!”

I wonder how she came to be so easy going. I thrive on schedules and consistency. Routine results in not having to remember where I parked the car, as it is in the same row every time. Supper is the same time every day. When something disrupts the flow I get a feeling of disquiet and will invariably forget a major step of whatever I am doing.

Not Beth. She thrives on chaos. Perhaps that is why she prefers to work in an emergency room instead of a different department.

I find it interesting that a flower as picky as an orchid also thrives in her house. Perhaps all the noise is part of her secret. Maybe the plant likes all the chatter around it. Maybe plants need more than sunshine and rain. Maybe I also need more than routine.

We all need different things to survive. Beth needs to be surrounded by people. She has always been this way. Me, I prefer bouts of solitude where I can play in the dirt and plant flowers. Every once in awhile I need to shake up the routine and immerse myself in Beth’s world. Until then, I have flowers to plant.