Scale

I am battling to save the lives of my beloved orchids - they have developed scale. In the past when these pests showed up on my houseplants I would just throw them away. But in this case, with expensive plants which I have lovingly kept alive and find so much pride in, I am going to war. I scrape the tiny things off the blossoms and leaves, wash them down the sink, and re-check them every few days. It seems to be a losing battle as they continue to show up and I continue to scape them off, wondering if it's an effort in futility. I'm not sure.

Why is it that when we win one battle (keeping these plants alive has been a huge one!) we face another? It's almost like a life-lesson. While some doors open for us, others slam shut. When we begin to feel optimistic about the way things are going, something happens to slap us down and discourage us. It's almost as though the fates sit back and say "Look at that - she finally figured out how to keep those plants alive - let's throw her a curve ball now!" Does anyone else ever feel that way? You get a great job/you get fired from a great job. One child gets on the honor roll/one child gets detention. It's like things can never go too smoothly because we shouldn't get complacent!

Of course my orchids are only a small part of my daily life and I realize there are no great conspiracies aimed in my direction., But honestly, I am determined to win this one and my orchids will survive! Because in life we need a little victory now and again...