I’m an eternal optimist and have no intention of straying from that course, although it sometimes gets me in trouble.

After the last blast of freezing temperatures blew through south Louisiana, my Aunt Judy had a question for me.

“Do you think we’ll have more cold weather?” she asked.

“Oh, no,” I assured her. “We’ve had enough. The weather will just get warmer and warmer.”

So confident was I in my prediction that I went to a nursery one warm, sunny afternoon last week and bought enough flowers to fill the back of my car.

As soon as I got home, I planted some, potted others in large outdoor planters and lined the rest along my fence until I could decide what to do with them.

My husband, the person in our relationship who actually watches weather forecasts, said, “You do know that it will get cold again this week?”

I then remembered my Maw Maw’s advice, “Never plant flowers until after Easter.”

I’m not sure if God allows people to peek out of the windows of Heaven, but if He did, surely she was smiling at me as she shook her finger.

Maw Maw was the person who instilled in me a love of all things outdoors. In one of my earliest memories, she is kneeling next to me, showing me the difference between a weed and a flower.

She taught me to throw used coffee grounds and egg shells on azaleas, to plant when the sun first begins its descent and to always wait until after Easter before adding new flowers to the garden. I thought of those memories, and many more, as Michael and I hauled pots of flowers into our house.

What about the flowers I prematurely planted in the ground? Let’s just say I’m optimistic.

Ronny Michel may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.