The Peonies Are Back!

Flower fairies, stepping into summer, and the magic of widening our worlds

Whether you’ve been reading Dream Big for a while or are brand new, thank you. I am deeply grateful for your choice to read my work. I typically post every two weeks, but due to summer plans and my need for a tiny break, my next post will be the first week in July. (For those on Substack, I will still be present and reading.)

For new readers:

Dream Big is about my writing journey. Approximately every two weeks, I post about: finding writing in my 40s, embracing a creative life, writing my first novel, and the everyday moments that inspire me as I juggle family life and my dreams of becoming a published author.

I’m so glad you’re here.

---

Something wonderful happened to me recently. One morning last week, I opened my door to find this:

These freshly cut blooms popped in a mason jar were such a surprise that I gasped when I saw them. Looking for a note, I turned the jar, scanned the walkway, checked the ground around my feet. Nothing. Looking up and down the quiet street, parked up because of a school event, I half expected someone to jump out from behind the bushes reminding me of a forgotten reason to celebrate. Instead, silence.

For those who have been reading Dream Big for a while, you may remember that I wrote about peonies this time last year, and I know I’m not alone in my love for these flowers. Suddenly, they are everywhere, explosive in their abundance much like the way they bloom, transforming from tightly wrapped petal globes to magnificent puffs of cream and pink.

My confusion gave way to sheer delight. I lifted that glorious bouquet off the doormat, and it’s no exaggeration to say I smiled for most of the day—certainly each time I looked at those beauties, but also at the thought of what had occurred. There were so many layers of goodness delivered with those pink, ruffly blooms.

First, it was a pure act of kindness. Flowers on my doorstep just because? It was as if a benevolent flower fairy had infused some magic into my day, sprinkled a little fairy dust in my path.

Second, there was intention. Honestly, a bunch of dandelions would make me smile, but this particular flower fairy chose the ones that make my heart sing. My fairy knew me!

And finally, whoever delivered those flowers knew something that maybe I didn’t know about myself, that maybe I needed a tiny pick-me-up. With a few days of school to go, we’re slogging over the finish line here. By the time this posts, my boys will have collapsed in an exhausted heap, sleeping late on the first day of summer vacation, yet another transition in family life and my writing routine. (Speaking of…I’m closing in on 45k words on my novel. Definite progress, but it can feel slow-going when life piles it on, even with the good stuff.)

It occurred to me that the effort of leaving those flowers on my doorstep required someone to alter their day, to widen their world, making time to clip and arrange those peonies and run them up to my door. In turn, I was nudged out of my space; my perspective changed, my heart opened and warmed. My whole day shifted with joy in the space of a moment, an astounding impact of a simple action.

As we move into a new season, and the headlines remind us daily that we live in a troubled world, may we consider stepping outside of our own little universes more often, if only for a moment at a time. I have gazed at those peonies countless times since they arrived, turning the vase, inspecting each individual bloom’s progress. They are pure delight, a reminder of what is good in the world. 

So go ahead, crank that song you love. Go for a walk. Take a break. Call a friend. Get out of town, or maybe just your neighborhood. Ride a bike. Bake cookies and, better yet, share them. Go out for ice cream. See a movie. Read a book. Or write one!

Or—and you knew this was coming—drop a mason jar of peonies on someone’s doorstep and let that fairy dust fly.

Thanks for being here. Happy summer, and I’ll see you in July.

Thank you for reading! One of the best ways to support writing you enjoy is to share it. Please consider sharing Dream Big with a friend who may like it, either by forwarding this post via email or using the “share” button in the app. I’m so grateful for your support of my work.