Are you guys into the Enneagram Personality Test? I’m a little obsessed right now. Rather, I’m anxious to become obsessed with it, but haven’t quite taken the time to learn all the jargon. For my birthday I got a Barnes and Noble gift card and I am anxious to get over there and find an Enneagram book I can understand. Something with a chart. If it’s a chart in crayon that’s even better; I really need this broken down to something I can comprehend and bright, waxy colors help.

Anyway, I’m making all my family and friends take the test (you know who you are) and report back to me (I told my family I want their results by the holidays so we can discuss around the Christmas tree. What could possibly go wrong?!) My daughter is an 8 so I was reading about her personality type. It was spot on. There was a section about the likelihood of falling into addiction and I was happy to read 8s aren’t very susceptible (they like to be in possession of their faculties.)

Then I read my own addiction section (I’m a 9). I fell asleep before I could finish reading the ENORMOUS LIST of addictions to which 9s are prone!! Lethargy, for starters (haha), sex, drugs, and rock and roll; all alcohol, undereating, overeating, caffeine, gnomes (just kidding, but seriously… I can’t stop buying gnomes.) The list went on! All this to say, Friends, I was in good company. Because there was also a list of famous 9s (or so somebody assumed). I was delighted to see none other than Claude Monet, whose birthday would be TODAY! 

I specifically Googled “Claude Monet addiction” and the internet agrees: he did not suffer from any drug or alcohol addiction. It’s pretty apparent he was addicted to lily pads and haystacks, but that was most definitely to our benefit! Here is one of his famous lily pad paintings on exhibit at the Chicago Institute of Art.

This puts my little pond to shame. I mean, where’s the algae?

Claude Monet (his real name was Oscar!) was rich and famous by the time he started painting the lily pads in his garden. He had them brought in and his team of seven gardeners cared for them, though Monet always had an active role in his garden, particularly the architecture of it. Some of the lily pads were native to France, but others were brought in from South America and Egypt. The lily pads occupied much of his painting for the next twenty years.

This is one of his less famous lily pad paintings, but one of my favorites:

“Flowering Arches” Don’t you just want to attend a wedding there?!

Bon Anniversaire, Mr. Monet! From one neuf to another!