Forget-Me-Not

In April, I took my boys to Cedar Rapids to attend my beautiful cousin Keile’s wedding. At the reception, with each place card, there were a package of flower seeds. This seemed to resonate with Monroe & Lennon. They thought it was the coolest thing, from the mini clothes pin (which they still have and I've had to put back together again more times than I want to remember), their names actually printed on the card to show where they sit, and the idea of planting something and watching it grow. 

When we returned to Omaha, I took the boys to pick out what color pot they wanted and we each planted our flowers. They "borrowed" a couple of extra seed packets from the table because they wanted to make a flower pot for their dad, and they wanted to make a big flower pot with a bunch of different flowers as a “Family Pot.” This was ALL their idea, and the fact that they even wanted to have one for their dad, made me so appreciative of the boys they are becoming.

The boys watched for days as the bright green plants began to break the surface of the contrasting black dirt. After several weeks of patiently waiting (now I know why I just buy my flowers every year 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️), the fruit of their labor was born. The first to bloom was a bright yellow flower from the Family Pot. This was just last week. The level of excitement could barely be contained. They’d come home each day to see if the warm rays of sun brought out another bloom. Lennon’s Bachelor Button’s were next, which he’s pretty proud that his was the “first” to bloom out of the individual pots, and likes to remind his brother of this, regularly.

My place card, had a pleasant surprise. I was given forget-me-nots as my flower. A pleasant surprise, because they hold a very special meaning to me. Forget-me-nots are Alaska’s State flower. The state I was born and raised in. The state that I miss every single day. I have loved these tiny bright blue bunches of flowers as long as I can remember. And my family, too. My mother even has tattoo of a forget-me-not. Knowing that they grow best in essentially, a cooler rainforest climate, that of Southeast Alaska, I’ve never once thought to attempt to grow them here in Nebraska. I learned pretty quick that on those 90+ degrees days, it's best to bring them indoors. And watering has become one of the boys's everyday activities.

Yesterday morning, something amazing happened. I saw the first glimpse of that cerulean blue I knew too well. It was caught off guard by how something so small and perceptually meager, could be so significant to me. Certain smells have had that affect on me to bring me back to a memory like a dolly zoom. But never knew a color could.

Yesterday morning, my younger sister caught a plane out of Omaha to Alaska to visit my older sister, who still lives in Juneau. I loved that these bloomed on that day...

I wanted to know how this small flower got its name, especially since it's name fully represented the experience that I just had. A little research and I found out that there was a lot more to the name than I ever thought... The name, forget-me-not... the colloquial name came from the Germans and was first used in the 14th century. Vergissmeinnicht. Of course there are different legends and lores to how it was named that. The romantic (and sad) myth goes that two lovers were walking along the Danube River. The man saw the blue flowers along the rivers edge and went to retrieve them for the woman, when he was swept away by the current. As he drifted away, he threw the bouquet of flowers to her and yelled to her, "Forget me not!" Another lore is that God was walking in the Garden of Eden. He had lined up all of the flowers to give them each a name. Only one remained. God turned as if to leave. The small flower began to cry and called out, "Forget me not, O Lord!" God turned and said, "that shall be your name." Such great stories for such a little flower. 

Forget-me-nots can be several different colors, most notably the blue and purple versions. The Alzheimer's Society uses the forget-me-not as an icon to raise awareness for the disease, and has chosen the color purple to represent Alzheimer's because of it.

Alaska decided on the forget-me-not to represent the state before Alaska was even a state. The flower was first chosen by the Grand Igloo, an organization formed by pioneers who arrived in Alaska before 1900. In 1907, they name the flower in their constitution as a symbol of their state. In 1917, a bill was introduced that proposed the forget-me-not to be declared the floral emblem of the, then, territory.

There are so many things that happen in our lives that we can just pass off as unimportant. But with minimal exploration, they can bring true meaning. I want to encourage everyone reading to look at some of these small things, let curiosity lead the way and see what you find. Appreciate the small things, because the small things are often times the most significant.

Monroe, prior to having to leave the reception to get stitches 🏥

Lennon-Red, Mom-Green, Dad-Gray, Monroe-Blue, Family-Black

Such a small thing with so much meaning 💙