Stop and Smell the Roses

On a recent walk, I passed a neighbor’s house and a rose waved to me in the sunlight. I could not help it; I had to stop to sniff the beautiful scent of the rose. The rose gave me a magnificent gift that day, as it beckoned me to enjoy her beautiful aroma.

Another couple walking towards me saw what I had done, and yelled out, “That’s the spirit, stop and smell the roses, we never take time to that.” I joyously laughed and as they passed me, they too, stopped to inhale the beauty of the rose.

As I continued on my walk, I began to ponder the phrase stop and smell the roses. We often do not take time to enjoy simple pleasures. We live in such a hurried and harried society, running in many different directions at once. Mores the pity, that such a simple thing to do seemed like such a novelty that day.

I promised myself to make time for more moments like the one I experienced that day. I urge you to make a pledge today, to stop and enjoy the moment at hand and if you see a rose waving at you…Stop and say hello!

As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round. ~Ben Hogan

In Memory of a Saint-Honoring Mom

In memory of a saint, I honor my mother today. Usually it is customary to use a white flower to honor a deceased mom on Mother’s Day. I choose to pay tribute to my mother today with a red flower because her spirit is alive and well.

Everything that I am is because of the strength of my mother. People have asked me through the years where did I ever get my unwavering belief of self and faith in God. The answer is simple, my mother.

I keep her memory close to my heart and with great admiration for her joie de vivre. She was a great lady who took risks in life, and had a faith that was unshakeable. For someone who was small she was soooo mighty.

I am honored to be her daughter. I hope to one day leave a legacy that is half as great as hers. So with the greatest of love and respect, today I remember my mother, a saint in my eyes and my heart.

The Fun of the Yankee Swap

Okay, so I feel that I have been a little too serious lately on Christmas giving……

Last night my local Toastmasters held its Holiday Party. We had to bring a Yankee Swap gift that was odd, fun, and something that we definitely wanted to regift. We turned this into an amusing table topics discussion.

Well, I tell you, I originally opened a little clock radio quite nice, definitely a keeper. But no…… My eyes got greedy and I saw the lovely vase that someone else had and swapped it. For those who don’t know me, I love flowers, so I thought to myself, Wahoo! I scored. Yeah that cockiness was short-lived as someone opened their gift and swapped with me. You want to know what I got! I received a set of four miniature ceramic non-matching cowboy boots. What a hoot! We all laughed. I tried to hawk like an auctioneer telling folks they would just love to have this one of a kind item. We had so much fun. The spirit of this is to not take life seriously and enjoy the moment.

What fun and outlandish Christmas grab gifts have you received?