I will never be the gardener my mom was. And yet, she did instill in me a love of florals that's stayed with me all my life.
As I schlepped the garbage out to the curb this week, I noticed the lilies of the valley had come up on the side of the house. The prior owners planted them, so I can't claim responsibility for their appearance. Also, as I admitted, I'm no gardener. So when they arrived, it was amidst grasses and a few weeds.
But there they were.
When I was growing up, my mom would let me take small bunches of flowers to grade school. She would wet a paper towel and wrap it around the base, then cover the towel with foil to keep the blooms fresh. I'd put them on my desk and enjoy them all day. It seems such an odd thing, that sometimes I wonder if I dreamed this. My siblings can confirm or deny.
In any case, as I noticed the little flowers valiantly poking their heads up, I decided to clip a bunch and put them next to my writing table so I could enjoy them as I worked. I hadn't remembered how fragrant they were. As the day went on, their scent filled the room.
Such a lovely aroma from such teeny flowers.
Later, when my work was done, I pondered the idea of something so diminutive making such a big impression. I'm sure there's a lesson in there somewhere.
But I was content just to enjoy them while they lasted and leave the metaphors to others.
Happy Spring!
P.S. Hi Lili Hi Lo is a song Leslie Caron sang in the movie Lili. I had it going through my head when I wrote this. (My mind is a strange and occasionally wondrous thing.) The song was written by Walter Jurmann and Bronisław Kaper (who was Jewish, born in Warsaw and fled Europe during the Nazi occupation). The pair ended up in Hollywood, where they enjoyed successful careers writing music scores for movies.
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