Resilience Doesn’t Grow in Straight Lines

I used to say I had two kids, a dog, and a palm tree to look after.

The kids are thriving. The dog is a legend.

The palm tree… almost didn’t make it.

For years, I paid the gardener to treat it against the Picudo, a nasty insect that kills slowly, from within.

He nodded, smiled, invoiced… but never actually did it.

By the time I realised, most of the leaves had fallen off. It was nearly gone.

We tried everything: different people, different products, different approaches.

And somehow, stubbornly, awkwardly, beautifully, she refused to die.

It’s growing again now. A little crooked. A little scarred. But alive.

And here’s what I know:

– You can’t delegate what truly matters without oversight.

– Trust without verification is a luxury. And a risk.

– Resilience doesn’t always look symmetrical. Sometimes it just looks like survival.

That burst of new growth at the top, despite the battered crown, is a comeback.

Crooked, bold… slightly punk.

I won’t try to straighten her.

She’s earned the right to grow her own way.