It has been awhile since I checked in with all of you lovelies and I thought I should get the fingers going and see what happens. April was all about Tulips in my house.....and let me say.... tulips have the ability to make one great month!
For those of you that live elsewhere, Washington State is home to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, a world renowned event. I have been lucky enough to go for the last couple of years and this year was special because I was able to go not once.....but twice!!!
Yeah....we were lookin at some tulips like a pro! Calling them by their fancy names and stuff.
It was no longer "Hey! Look at that crazy orange/red spiky.... looks like dancing bird things from David Bowies Labrinth ones!! Those are my favorite!!!
To a little more refined....a little more gardener-ish....like.....
"OH...look at that beautiful cluster of Apricot Sunrise Parrot Tulips!! Those are lovely!!" (did you hear my gardener accent?? I knew you would!!)
For a minute I almost had myself convinced I knew what I was doing....then I was so busy gawking that I ran into some lady with a stroller and after an apology and a piece of fudge...(yeah...I forgot to mention that they had fudge there so the amazing factor was shot up to way over 1000 because I could taste chocolate AND see acres of tulips all at the same time!)
Anyway.....running a lady over.....eating fudge.....we got back to normal pretty fast. Dancing bird tulips it is......
I love people watching. Tulip festival...any festival really...hell the sidewalk on a Saturday will do in a pinch.....are fantastic for people watching. Here are some of my observations...or judgments......you know whatever you like to call them! The stuff that makes me think...the stuff that I will write books about someday. The stuff that makes me love all you crazy humans!
#1. Humans are all the same.....very few of us can follow directions.
We ALL want a picture or selfie or full on photo shoot (no kidding...some people bring all the gear) in the middle of the tulip field.
We ALL want the family photo, the engagement picture of kissing in a field of red and yellow happiness, the selfie for Facebook that is at an angle that makes you look like you are Queen/King of the damn tulips.....we get it.
It's pretty and so are you.... and your screaming kids... and your significant other that looks as though he would rather be waiting for you at the Macy's fitting room because God knows at least someone got smart and put ESPN on a TV there.....
Point is we ALL want to feel special.....I know darling....and you are...but for the love of God STAY OUTTA THE DAMN TULIPS......
But they (we) don't.....
Because we can't follow directions....it comes with that whole free -will thing I think.....
#2. There are very few jobs worse then the one where you are the guy with the bright orange crossing guard flag and your sole purpose for who knows how many hours a day is to keep people OUTTA THE DAMN TULIPS! (need I say more??)
Yeah......those people......they need hugs....and I sincerely hope they get all the free fudge they can eat...because those guys.....sainthood status right there on the ol' patience meter.
You will have to convince yourself (or in my case several times) that #3.it is NOT OK to run naked through the tulips!!!
Ok...it was cold so maybe not naked....but hey...if all these people are doing this half/ass in the middle of the row thing....lets go for it....
lets go all the way!!
Streak through the tulips!!! YES!!!!!.......
no.....no we can't be one of those people that the poor flag guys want to assault...not today.
#4. Nobody is in a hurry until they are in a line.
I got over lines when I lived in London.....living in a city with millions will do that to you....and now this advantage makes my Tulip Town trip much more enjoyable. I don't need to "hurry up to see the flowers".....they are everywhere buddy....calm it down!
If you can get through the line you may find that.........
#5. Flowers make people happy and happy people give love.
People hold hands and kiss and hug and smile allot more when they are happy....or when there is fudge.....maybe it's the fudge...........
#6. Traditions are important, because they create memories that stand out.
You know what I remember from being a kid?? The stuff we did over and over and over again.
The Friday night TGIF TV marathon in my mom's bed with popcorn. The trips driving to Spokane with my grandparents and stopping at the same restaurant for lunch every time...every year. The trips to the ocean with my other grandparents and cousins. The song about a chicken laying a hard boiled egg my grandma would sing with me every time I was at her house. The little blueberry muffins my grandma would bring me before piano lessons.
Tulip festival is like that...and you can hear it in the conversations as people walk by.
"Oh you remember last year when......???"
"Do you think that 3 years ago they had this set up right here to?"
"I hope they have that good fudge!!".....
(OK.....so maybe that was me)
"They didn't have this field open last time we were here"
Tradition makes people sentimental.....sentiment makes people feel loving. The world needs more love so maybe we can all start by making new traditions. The tulip festival tradition is not an old one for me, but my hope is that by dragging as many people as I can along with me every year I can enhance this tradition that I started for myself and maybe inspire a tradition in them.
I love the Tulip Festival because it is a tradition for me that fills me with love.....and my heart is so big when I am there that I kind of want to skip everywhere. That's special....and you can see that in others when you are there if you pay attention. Which kind of circles back to how we all think we are different....but really we are all the same.
And finally~
#7. If I ever own a tulip field I will have a section where every little kid who wants to pick a tulip can and every grown-up (or not) who wants to run through them can as well.
Because the world also needs more places where we can pick flowers and run with ridiculous joy.
Like any great tulip festival patron I spent a ridiculous amount of money on an armload of tulip bouquets that made me ridiculously happy for a solid 2 weeks after. Which was worth every penny. Tulips and tradition....two things that bring me joy in the "middle".
My tulip trips were so inspiring that I came home and made tulip soap! Now I can even have tulips in the shower!
As my way of sharing tulip love I will randomly select 3 winners to receive a FREE bar of SoapSociety tulip soap. Share YOUR favorite tradition that makes you want to skip happy in the comments below to enter.
One love,
Danielle
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