The Tiger Lily Lesson
When I was young and dumb and broke—I’m talking about my 20s and, maybe, even beyond—I would take shortcuts to reach my goals. (Come to think of it…I still take some stupid shortcuts!) I learned the hard way, however, that there are times when travelling the long road is the best way to go.
The arrival of summer—finally—has resulted in the grounds around my home being awash in tiger lilies, a favorite flower since childhood. The orange smatterings have not only brightened my gardens, but my outlook. (How can you feel bad with such glorious splendor?) The opening of these flowers’ petals has reminded of a time so long ago.
With the somewhat-limited budget of a just-out-of-college and newly-employed professional, I liked to entertain…a lot. And I liked to do it in splendor. My means certainly didn’t justify the end that I liked to accomplish: wonderful food and beverages and beautiful table arrangements with magnificent floral centerpieces. But I managed. (My credit card statements at that time indicated just how I accomplished my festive and popular dinner parties.)
One time it was duck ala orange for the main menu. (I wanted to impress the guy I was dating!) With help from a wine shop owner, the perfect (and expensive) wine was chosen. The bakery provided the rich and, again, expensive, dessert. By the time it came to the floral centerpiece, my budget was exhausted. My dinner party would be a failure!
Driving past a large and lovely field of tiger lilies at a public park gave me an idea. The park wouldn’t miss a handful of flowers, which would make a perfect centerpiece. I solicited my sister for a night-time escapade to the park to retrieve (a better word than “steal”) the blossoms.
The night before my dinner party with nerves and anxiety at top peak, we accomplished our mission. I brought home the booty to discover not glorious flowers, but closed-up elongated globs on green stems. That’s okay, I thought I’ll put them in water and they’ll open up by tomorrow night’s festivities.
Didn’t happen! The buds remained closed throughout my dinner party—which was a complete flop because everybody got so drunk that the meal went unappreciated!
I thought the closed buds were God’s penalty for stealing and vowed at the time to travel only the right road. No more short cuts! I have since learned that tiger lilies are in the day lily family and that there is a reason that flowers of this species are called “day” lilies! Luckily, however, I learned a lesson from my failed centerpiece (and party) so very long ago: If I don’t have the money to do things right, I don’t do them! Also, I make sure that I get outside every day—before sunset—to enjoy the tiger lilies!