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I HAVE A VERY DEAR friend who is refreshingly honest. It disturbs her when she perceives someone to be glossing over or pussyfooting around or dumbing down or totally misinterpreting the truth. WHAT?! She sounds amazed that one would be so self-deceived, and then she points out the plain and simple facts about the matter as she sees them. I love this about her. I love to hear her squawking that the emperor's wearing no clothes, for heaven's sake! Even when I'm thinking, come on now, it sure looks to me like he's managed to scramble into at least a pair of pants and a top hat, I still like to hear her describing the fallacy of the idea.

So, being this tell-it-like-it-is kind of a person, once this friend suggested to me it's not good to always relay to the world just the happy and well-dressed and got-it-all-together part of existence (It's true that even the emperor has his problems!) How's anyone to know they're not the only one bumbling through life if everyone else is only presenting successes? (Of course, periodically someone ends up in a colossal heap on the sidewalk, and all around there is clucking and tsk-tsking and lots of heavy sighs of relief for the chance to go on pretending about one's self).

With all that having been said--Here it is: my flower bed, today.


















Hardly a success by anyone's standards!
(I'm quite sure even the emperor would agree--when fully clothed).



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