Funeral flowers

I have had a lot of thinking going on inside my head but for some reason I can not seem to get the words to come out of my mouth - or through my fingers onto the screen - in one coherent sentence.  Suppose that my thoughts have been more scattered than usual the past couple of months.  I have found that I cannot always recall a memory (even ones that used to be very strong, or have large emotional ties).  Rambling is not enough. Words are not enough (since I cannot force them into something that makes sense).

When I was in elementary school, I was an alter server.  I attended more funerals than any of my classmates. I also attended more weddings - as an alter server. Somewhere along the line I moved on to being a Eucharistic Minister as well as a Lector (Catholic Girl Here).

I wonder if those occasions, the ones growing up that I was not attached to the funeral/wedding... I wonder if that is where I learned to love flower arrangements.  This particular photo was from a family friends funeral recently (and though it may seem a bit too callous, I would not be able to say her passing was unexpected because she had been on a very rough road for...well, most of my life).

When I really think about it, flowers tend to fall into very specific categories for me.  Nature (mostly mountains)... Yards/Gardens/Gardening (selected by people particularly to suit their wants/needs)... Decorative centerpieces (ceremonial occasions such as a holiday, bringing life into a room in a house, galas/fundraising events, that sort of thing)... Of course the Rose Parade in Pasadena CA every New Years Day (or Jan. 2nd if it fell on a Sunday that year, as it occasionally does)... I suppose courting/birthday/just because flowers have a category... Then I am left with funerals and weddings.

No idea why this particular rant felt the need to be typed out but since it is one of the few items I have been able to write (well, ramble on) about I am going to make it a post.  Flowers, wherever they are found, are beautiful.  They might not necessarily match (if they are arranged/in an arrangement) -- but they remind me of fingerprints -- all unique. Some chosen in sorrow, some chosen in joy... some with care and some without.  But nature is always around us and flowers are often a beautiful way to express whatever emotion/occasion exists at that moment in time.

(Today I am happy, sad, worried, lucky, blessed, thankful)