Waltzing in Beauty: Monday Smiles Volume 2

Because the ultimate cure for the Monday blues is
something that will make you smile and grateful for what you have.

These things make me smile and hopefully they will make you smile too.

Lilies

Lilies have always stood out to me.

Their meaning to me, however, differed depending on the stage of my life.

My first memories of lilies are of the white stalks of calla lilies decorating the Church at Easter and in the portraits of saints known for their purity.

I thought they were ugly.

The name Lily, however, was always a favorite of mine.

Everyone knows that being named after a flower is akin to being called beautiful.

So the name Lily was reserved for the prettiest of girls in playing pretend.

A fight over who would be named Tigerlily by the chief was the second step after determining we would play Indians;

followed by the debate on who would be named a variation of Rose.

During this time I received a pretty little doll with long light brown hair in a high ponytail and a pastel dress. She was christened Lily and became the perfect little sister to American Girl, Molly or Kirsten.

She was a favorite, and unlike other dolls, her name never changed.

What self respecting girl would strip herself of the title of having the prettiest doll due to her flower namesake?

As I grew and playing pretend happened less and less,

Lily still held a prominent place on the shelf.

Chores were becoming more involved. Gone were the days of simply making your bed and putting away your clothes. Now you had to work and you just might break a sweat doing it.

Gardening was now a regular on the chore list.

I have the worst allergies.

I can spend about half an hour with my nose pulling weeds, but I could last longer digging holes and planting. So at our new house with plenty of garden space, I became my mother's assistant bulb planter.

This was my first true experience gardening. The landscaping at our old house had been done by my grandfather. It was beautiful and fit the property.

At a new home, with new soil, some new additions to our flower beds were made. Lilies of all variations to be exact.

Oh how I complained.

How many day lilies does one really need to plant in a garden?

To make matters worse after the hours of toil you do not even get a chance to enjoy your work because they will not sprout until the next June!

Cruel torture.

But wait I must and I did.

The following summer, much to my dismay, only half sprouted.

They were small and shriveled.

But the summer after that? They were beautiful.

Oh how beautiful!

The bright oranges, purples and yellows, reds and pinks,