UPON FURTHER REVIEW

I had an English professor who began every one of his creative writing classes with the phrase “Upon further review.”

It was an exercise to encourage us to take a second look at the assignment we had presented the previous day. We were to read over what we had written and see how it could be made better, the flow of words easier to read and grammatically correct. Often the only tweaking required would be the removal or addition of a word, a restructured sentence.

I was occupied with other things besides writing, for I was one of the older students who had returned to school at age 38. I did the assignment but didn’t understand the need for the ‘further review.’ I had written what I felt was an adequate piece between cooking dinner and folding laundry, and felt no compunction to change anything; that mindset would later defeat me, hindering my reasoning and direction I should have heeded. Sometimes you do need to take a second look at things, to look at things with fresh eyes.

Summer of 2009 has been extremely rainy, and one I don’t think I’ll soon forget. I’ve filed it in my mind as the “Rainbow Summer,” since the mixture of the sun and low laying clouds has created more than I can remember seeing in one season. The rain has birthed beautiful flowers and strange fruit in our garden, the likes of which we’ve not witnessed before. What was first thought as an errant zucchini, has turned to a pumpkin, before deciding it is really a watermelon. I realized it was a metaphor for my life as well and the process I have taken to get where I am.

The rain has also produced the most magnificent blooms from my rose bushes as well. Given as wedding presents on a hot summer morning, we couldn’t wait to plant them.

Disappointment loomed for three seasons as the bushes were barely non-descript, the sweet petals munched up by beetles. The resulting roses were skimpy and odorless; we secretly hoped this wasn’t a harbinger of things to come.

Happily, this summer I’ve awoken to vases chock full of roses of every size. Their luscious aroma fills my head even before I open my eyes, knowing a bouquet has been placed on my bedside table, a good morning kiss from the one those least expected to be so romantic.

In fact, the kitchen and dining room tables are equally adorned with vases large and small, bookends to the calamities of the day ahead.

So upon further review, I will be thankful for this rainy summer of 2009 during the winter of 2010. I will remember to try to be more than just adequate, and to constantly tweak what I can to make life around me more beautiful and worth the effort.

As I travel back to those vases full of love, I will remember what they were created from – rain, roses and rainbows.