Tall poppies, pyramids and sexy Wiggles

Stan and I are engaged in tomato plant wars.

“Mine are three feet high and flourishing”, he announced proudly, over party rings and dainty cups of after-service tea. His green bean plants are not being eaten alive either.

I chewed my biscuit and eyed him thoughtfully. I suspect both the involvement of pest-control and a greenhouse.

*

I’m just back from dance class: always a feel-good morning. I made sure to tell our young teacher why we love her classes:

“It’s like you’re one of us,” I explained, “Some health and beauty types can be a bit sniffy.”

I was thinking specifically of the hairdresser who held up chunks of my over-processed hair a few years back and declared it, “Pooey.” Just the self-esteem boost all ladies want to hear.

Kelly is the exact opposite: she shines.

And the girl recognises her worth: when we joked that our class should have a Dance Moms style pyramid with each weeks’ best mover getting the top spot, she replied with a wink,

“Me: I get to be top every week.”

*

I’m going for a part-time job. I’ll admit that I’m a bit nervous.

It’s not that I’m worried that I won’t be able to do the job, but more that I might be considered over-qualified.

You see, the job is in a shop that sells craft supplies, kids toys and books. And as someone who has worked at a top publishing company and been paid to craft, my application could be met with a little curiosity.

But for me, going back to paid work after being a stay-at-home mum (staying long after any actual mumming was required) is a big step.

Knowing how much I’ve enjoyed my thrift shop volunteering, I’m excited.

*

I asked Stan about a weird plant that’s growing in our garden. I didn’t plant it and don’t know how it got there, but it’s like something from a children’s book - the thing is getting enormous.

“It’s not the same colour as the other plants,” I explained, “And there’s something vaguely lettuce-like about its leaves.”

“That’ll be a poppy,” he answered sagely, happily scattering biscuit crumbs into his tea.

I googled it and the old boy really does know his stuff: it is an incredibly tall poppy.

*

I had my most challenging day at the charity shop yesterday. We had coach loads of customers, about a hundred donations and several till issues.

But as I walked up the hill at the end of the day, I felt really proud.

If you’d asked me a while back if I thought I was shop management material, I’d have laughed. Me? A shy lass, with such social anxiety that I worry about who I’m going to sit next to at church?

But look at me now: putting out thrift-related fires, standing tall in the face of till malfunctions and fulfilling my potential.

*

Do you know what is making me really cross at the moment in our media landscape? (I know, where to start, right?) Women being put ‘in their place’.

Brilliant, talented, driven women being told - mainly by social media keyboard warriors - that they need to stay small and not shine as brightly.

Those folks bash away at their phone pads like mischievous toddlers with wooden hammers battering colourful pegs back into place:

You’re inauthentic, you’re devious, you’re unlikeable and you’re not even that talented.

Some of us never left the playground, did we?

This is why I garden.

*

Thanks to my latest chick-lit novel, I found myself speculating on which of The Wiggles I’d get romantic with, if pushed (answer: the blue one).

Ah, The Wiggles.

In the early days of parenting, we endured hours of those peppy Aussie boys pretending to be ducks and chickens (quack-quack-quack-a-doodley-doo!) They were exhausting, but they sure had some moves (Kelly should lift a few of their routines - about the right level for us lot).

But another Aussie song has been in my mind recently: Hillsong Kids’ ‘Let your Light Shine’:

“Fear comes to blow out all your lights…
But don’t be afraid to stand up tall…
Let your light shine.”

*

In a world that would like to put women back in their places - you’re not top of the pyramid, you don’t fit in with the other plants, you’re too tall, too confident and you’re not even that pretty - it can be a battle to stand proud and keep shining.

But you know what?

Just because the world doesn’t like tall poppies, doesn’t mean any of us should stop being who we’ve been created to be: precious children of God - gifted with abilities, talents, passions and ambitions.

And sometimes, although it feels quite the job to keep standing tall, that is exactly what is required of us.

Because in a world that would like to knock us down, God’s plan for us is often just that: to keep standing.