Tuples and Attributes

Growing up, I was taught that it was important for me to use my talents and smarts to do something big to make the world a better place. I have realized several things over the years regarding this goal:

• 1. I’m smart, but not brilliant; I was never going to come up with paradigm-changing, world-shaking ideas,
• 2. Even if I had the talent, I don’t have the desire to put in the hours it would take to be world-class at something, and
• 3. Improving the world does not mean having to do something that will go down in the history books.

More and more, I think that the whole idea of just being kind to others, of actually practicing the Golden Rule, has more of a chance to better the world than most anything else. Which leads me to flower gifting.

I have been making paper flowers since 2017. I never made them with the goal of selling them, I just enjoyed the process. This means that over the years, I have given many flowers away and never more so than in the last few months.

Since August, my physical therapist’s office got several bouquets of tulips. One of the receptionists there took a bouquet of various wildflowers with her when she moved to Texas; the other receptionist got a bouquet of daisies and roses. My physical therapist got a pink rose for her birthday last month. My landscaper took several roses home to his wife. My home-health nurse admired my water lilies and now has one sitting on his desk at work.

If you are around me long enough, I will probably ask you what your favorite flower is and try to foist one off on you, for example:

• A friend I gave poinsettias to in 2018, just told me this year that she still brings them out each Christmas
• My housekeeper’s mother got blue and white anemones for her birthday
• A rather reclusive neighbor got red, white, and blue gladiolas for 4th of July
• A good friend got hydrangeas to match those in her yard
• A neighbor who lost her mother got gardenias because those were her mother’s favorite flower
• Another neighbor got some of my first self-designed flowers: Alstroemeria

When I look at all the flowers I have made and given away over the years (which you can see if you look under the Paper Flowers heading here on my blog), I like to think that I am, after all, doing my little bit to brighten up the world.

(Many of the flowers I make are thanks to the designs and techniques found at https://liagriffith.com/craft/all-paper-flowers/. If you’re interested in making flowers or many other things, her site is hard to beat.)