a tale of slow blooming

My friend Susie gave me an amaryllis bulb two years ago, it bloomed, it was beautiful, and then it was done. The foliage remained, and I kept watering it for the next year and a half. A few months ago, I gave up watering it, and cut off all the foliage. The bulb seemed to have dried up and I stuck it in a corner. As I was passing that corner about a month later, I saw that the bulb sprung forth a bud.
I was overjoyed, and resumed watering. In a few weeks I got this:
My lesson from this experience: when you least expect it, something beautiful happens. Have a great weekend!