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School is back in session. Today was the first day. If you could see my emoji face right now, it would be the one where the eyes are bugging out in disbelief--disbelief of how fast the summer break vanished.
My backyard is not my favorite place to be simply because I can stand on my back stoop and shake my neighbors' hands. Not quite, but it feels like it.
Anyway, there are some pretty things back there regardless of my desire to be there.
These resurrection lilies bloomed. I thought I had daffodils by the leaves in the Spring, but Mom noticed they were resurrection lilies instead.
They push out luscious leaves in the Spring, then those leaves fade away into bare dirt. Then they suddenly spring out of the earth and bloom.
Somebody else has beautiful Oriental lilies in their yard. This is a picture from a walk around town.
And another form of beauty I'm seeing lately: women. I don't say that to be funny or silly. It has taken decades of my life to be comfortable in my skin, including lumps and bumps, real or perceived.
There are all sorts of women and girls in my circles. Each one is beautiful.
If I were to ask any of them if they thought they were beautiful, the most common answers I would get is:
Eh, I don't think so, but thank you.
I still need to lose ____ pounds first.
I need to workout more, though.
I need to stop eating ____.
Yeah, well, I wish this or that were different about me.
I wish my ____ (teeth, hair, nails, tummy, arms, legs, feet--anything) were prettier/shinier/skinnier/more toned/more tanned/etc.
Always thinking there is something to change because they don't look like the airbrushed, painted-up, faked-out models in advertising.
It's okay to be a normal, everyday woman. Normal, everyday women are beautiful!
I see normal, everyday women speaking kindly to others, helping others, showing love, encouraging others, being strong, drawing boundaries, and flourishing in the strengths God gave them and learning new ones at the same time.
If you want to change, learn new skills or a better mindset, but flourish in the skin God gave you.