By Jim Nichols

If you have children, the birthdays of the children are special not only to the child, but also to you. Whether it is their first or second birthday or one much later (even as an adult), the memories of the past and joys of the present flood our parental brains.

Our firstborn, Amy, is no longer a little child. She is now an adult. Near one of her adult birthdays 14 years ago, I was temporarily living away from her in another city. There was a park nearby and I frequently exercised there. I wrote this for her birthday then. It got buried somehow under stacks of paper in my life and I just found it. 

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The flowers are blooming in the city right now. Magnolia, hyacinth, daffodils, even dandelions. Each is making its own contribution to the seasonal change of spring. Their appearance has an emotional effect on us as we see brighter forms of life appear after the gray or white time of winter.

Today near my favorite fountain there was a cluster of perhaps 150 yellow tulips. They had been planted in an earlier year I suspect and now were growing in a nearly perfect triangle. They were so closely spaced that they made an almost consistent appearance, one large and almost solid yellow triangle. The triangle was not completely yellow, however. There amidst the yellow were three bright red tulips randomly positioned among the yellow ones. How did that happen? Was it a mistake of the planter? A joke? A message to us? I could make the case for the fact there were three reds representing our eventual three children.

I was 25 years old once. I was 25 years old 40 years ago when the first red tulip appeared among the yellows in my life. I like the yellows, but the red one (we named Amy) has stood out through the years as special and different from the rest. I have known lots of tulips in my life and many of them have been wonderful, but my first red tulip changed my life. The excitement of that day continues deep in my heart.

She was a small tulip at first and she took some tending. We were not sure how much to water or feed or prune her, but she grew magnificently. Soon she was a strong young tulip, a red tulip at that, in a sea of yellow tulips. Her redness lapped over into other characteristics that made her unique. Her roots seemed deep and secure, and her leaves were a brilliant green that leaned sidewise and touched the neighboring leaves. She did not try to crowd out the other tulips but seemed to make them stand out more because of the contrast to her. She joined in with the other tulips, but still maintained her own special qualities.

Year after year this red tulip has appeared. She has not tried to change the yellows into red; she has just seemed to be content to be the red among the yellow, adding something that they needed.

My life has been infinitely blessed because of the presence of these three red tulips. Others say the same. The first red to appear has a birthday soon.

Happy Birthday Amy.

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospital chaplain