a short-ish story that really does have a purpose

the summer of 2009 featured me working at lowe's, which ended as a hellish experience, to say the least. it didn't start out quite so hellish, though, because i was hired as a "waterer."

you heard that right, kids.
i was a plant waterer.

which entailed me waking up in the wee hours of the morning before it got too hot to water those plants in the nursery.

i like wee hours in the morning, especially in the summer. it's so cool, and fresh. my favorite.

i would water the plants until my hands were pruny and my feet were drenched, then i'd water some more. i learned a lot about plants and flowers and annuals and perennials (and solidified knowledge that my english gardening mother had placed in there while weeding her yard). that's where i learned what peonies were.

they were these beautiful flowers that had layers and layers of petals, and before they had bloomed were tucked away in a ball of layers and layers of softness.

so. pretty.

it wasn't there that i decided i wanted peonies in my bouquet. but that memory sticks in my brain.

long story short, white peonies. lots of white peonies. closed white peonies, in my bouquet. with this cool grayish foliage called dusty miller (which my mom knew as well as the florist...she's rad). and then these gray berries, the name of which fails me.

but lots of peonies. oh, lovely.