Flowers Aren’t for Girls

I’ve been a tomboy most of my life. Growing up, I despised dresses, preferred Legos over dolls, and my favorite set of clothes consisted of jeans, a t-shirt and my beloved cowboy boots. I liked fishing, riding bikes with my brother and playing chess in groups of mostly boys. Most of my friends were boys, and though we were never allowed to play too roughly, I was still one of the gang.

Today, I’m pretty much just as anti-femininity as I used to be. I still hate dresses, and if you open my closet, you might find a couple sets of “good clothes,” but they’re well-hidden behind the mass of t-shirts and jeans. My favorite thing to do at work is haul heavy boxes or loads of paper so I can use my muscles. Scratches and bruises from my martial arts classes are worn proudly. My haircut of choice is very short, and makeup rarely touches my face. And the color pink? Don’t get me started. (Okay, I admit I do have one pink t-shirt. I have nothing against other women who adore this light shade of red, it’s just not my thing.)

In spite of all my boyish tendencies though…one of my favorite things God created is flowers. (Yes, even pink ones.) I love taking close-up photos of all kinds of flowers, especially the not-so-common. There are so many deep, rich colors absorbed in each petal that my eyes can't help but stare. Black petunias? Way cool. Stripes? Even cooler! Red. Orange. Purple. Blue. White. Yellow. All the colors of the rainbow are captured in these wonderful blossoming plants. If they smell good, that’s just a bonus. I love flowers enough to have two African violets in my office at work, and I’d like to grow more. I couldn’t have a flower garden anymore once I moved into my own apartment, so I had to at least buy a bunch of annuals to put in pots out on my porch. They’re not the happiest flowers I’ve ever seen, but I love doing my best to care for them and taking pictures of their blooms.

Call me girly and you’ll get a palm heel to the face or a round kick upside your head. Maybe both. But I’ll never renounce my love of flowers. As such, I’ve simply determined that flowers aren’t for girls. They’re for anyone who can enjoy the beauty God has given us. And flowers certainly are beautiful.

Do you have a favorite kind of flower? Do you admire from a distance, or do you have a green thumb?