Remember Construction Paper Hearts?

Driving in to work today my mind began to wonder. After all, at 5:45 a.m. in January there is nothing to see but darkness. My husband and I generally don’t talk much in the morning…sometimes not at all. Hmmmm. I hadn’t really thought about that, but it’s true. I bet some mornings we don’t say one word to each other.  Nothing to see. Nothing to say.

ANYWAY–coming back on topic–my mind began to wonder. You see I bought these really super cute Valentines a week ago and I can hardly wait to send them out. So, as I sat there, I was thinking, “How soon can I mail them without it being TOO soon? It’s not even the middle of January…it’s too soon. If they arrive on February 1st, that would be good. Officially, “Valentine’s” starts February 1st, doesn’t it?”

Insert soap opera(y) music as my mind mind travels back, back, back in time…

We are now in the mid 1970’s…WAAAAAAAAAAAY back in time. I’m a little girl sitting in first grade looking at the calendar on the wall. The teacher made it on the bulletin board. The background is pink construction paper with wavy white cardboard for a boarder. She blocked off each day of the month with a big square. Hanging in a baggie at the bottom, attached by a thumbtack, are red construction paper hearts. Each day, some lucky person (I hoped it was me!) would get to stick a heart on the calendar as we mark off the days…

Insert soap opera(y) music as my mind comes back to the dark cold car and 2016…

***SIGH****

“I miss those calendars. Oh! Remember the umbrellas for April and the turkeys for November?” Focus, Lisa. Back on subject…”Yes, I can mail my Valentine cards to arrive by February 1st, the first day of construction paper hearts on the calendar!”

I look over at my husband who stares blankly at the road and wonder, “What does he think about on his way to work?”

Better yet, what do YOU think about on your way to work? I hope it’s really important things like me!

😉   Make it a great day!

~~Lisa

 

 

 

How Does Your Garden Grow?

 When I was a little girl, I would help my mother in the gardens. Mama had a green thumb — everything she planted flourished, whether it was a rose bush or a watermelon vine. Me? Not so much. I don’t trust myself to garden alone.

I remember helping in the vegetable garden during planting season. Mama would go before me with the hoe, carving a neat furrow, breaking up clumps and “dispatching” and little pests who dared violate the field. I would crawl or scoot right behind, all Tomboy in the dirt, dropping little seeds into the ground Mama had prepared for me.

In the months that would follow, Mama and I would tend the garden — watering, weeding, and watching — waiting for the seeds’ glorious little green buds to break through the dirt, signaling the reward of our hard work.

We’ve all heard the analogies relating life to gardening — bloom where you’re planted, sow seeds of kindness, you reap what you sow, etc.

If you’re anything like me, you might have found yourself feeling like you’ve planted a lot of seeds in your life, but maybe haven’t seen them grow. I tell myself, “Marilyn, you’re planting a little seed now, and later on, someone will water it and pull the weeds. Eventually it will bloom, but it’s just not your job to be there when it does.”

But, secretly, sometimes I wondered if my “not-green-thumb-of-death” applied to my good intentions as well as my real-life gardening skills. How can I trust that my little seeds will grow in my absence?

Obedience.

Faith.

Grace.

We all have a role to play in this life.

When we’re running late, but go through the drive through for caffeine anyway because you know you’re going to need it, yet you still muster up a pleasant smile for the cashier. Seed Planted.

When you sit lovingly next to a hurting friend. Seed Watered.

When you bring some discipline into your own life. Garden Weeded.

When you have something to celebrated. Love Harvested.

We just have to remember, we are not responsible for the entire process. Friends don’t let friends garden alone. ❤

Love,

Marilyn

 

 

 

 

 

 

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