Making Your Bouquet

For those who know me, I am more of a tomboy. I like to roughhouse and do not mind getting a little muddy. But despite this, deep down I have an appreciation for flowers. The reason being is flowers are simple and small in size, but they can mean so much to people. On top of this their meaning can vary, so a flower to one person can mean something to else to another, and that is a beautiful thing.

When I was in elementary school I did not have many friends. Every so often I would find myself completely alone during recess, so I would wander around and find dandelions. My grandmother had always told me that if you close your eyes and blow all the white fluffy parts off of the stem, then you could make a wish. Once I would find one I would close my eyes, blow and wish that I would have someone to play with the next recess. This did not always work, but it gave me hope.

When I was babysitting a girl named Elli, I made her a flower crown out of clover flowers. She immediately went from a giggling little girl playing in the grass to a confident queen. She ruled a floral kingdom and with great flowers come great responsibility. She even took time to try and make me one, since every queen has to have a princess (her words not mine). Afterwards we had to get the royal drink of choice, a juice box, and head back out re-energized to rule the land. The flowers to make crown came from right outside the door, but when they were placed upon her head they brought her confidence.

Last year I got a friend of mine a small yellow rose bush from the grocery story, because when I saw them they made me think of her as a yellow rose is the symbol of friendship. The next time I saw her I gave them to her, and she could not wait to plant them. I had actually forgotten about these flowers until August of this year, when someone we both knew perished in a car accident. The day after the wreck she sent me a picture of that same rose bush, which at this point had grown a considerable amount. She said that every time she looked at it she thought of me.

We all have our own flowers, whether they’re real or metaphorical, that remind us what life is about. Hope is a flower we could all use as hope is one of the hardest things in the world to break. Confidence is a rarer flower, because we all feel like we lack confidence in something. Friendship is another flower that can be hard to find, but like a rose, it is hardy once you do. Even in the darkest of times your friendships can be what helps you through. We should all make our bouquets, and keep in mind what a treasure each flower is.

Living to serve,

Krissy Isle