It's officially wedding season...love and wedding consultations are in the air. We have one April event, two in May and two in June so far. I am so excited to see a little color in my landscape that I can hardly stand it! My yard is still a drab greyish yellow. Julie and I get a little giddy sitting down with the bride and her entourage to check out hot pink gerbera daisies and lime green Yoko Ono Poms. This year the tread seems to be with green. Not that I have anything against green, it's just that it is not a stand alone color. That is when we pounce with our palet of plenty. Gorgeous orange day lilies and fragrant yellow freesia...it makes my head spin with delight. I have never been so happy to talk about colors. I'm not a huge fan of Gypsophila (baby's breath) but even that sounds glorious right now. I know that it happens every year, this rebirth that brings daffodills and tulips, crocus and lilacs. But even so I get nervous that the drab greys will be this years pinks. I am holding my breath until I see that first yellow bloom poking its way up toward the warm sun. I have selfish reasons for wanting summer to come quickly, but not too quickly. Just one wedding at a time!
I just need a little reassurance here. I need to know why it is that life just keeps throwing curves one right after the other. I just want to put the bat down and walk off the field! It's not for myself really, but as a mother I need someone to figure this mystery out. My son, "the missionary" has been away from home almost 18 months. He is living in the Czech Republic, working hard and teaching. First, there was THE FOOT. The never ending pain in the foot. "OK" we conceded. "Stay off THE FOOT and let it heal, it is an old injury that has been aggravated by a lot of walking". Then THE FOOT got worse. "Alright" we agreed. "A blue cast and crazy crutches add color and design to the missionary's accessories". Then it was Plantar Facsiitis. "Well then" we announced. "Let's send some better insole supports and for heaven sake ice the bottom of you feet with frozen water bottles in the evening when you get home. Take 4 ibuprofen every 6 hours". But wait...then there was the hernia. "Holy Cats", we shouted. "What on earth is going on over there? Were you lifting weights on Preparation Day"??? So...1 ultrasound, 1 plane ride to Frankfurt, 1 hernia surgery, 1 night in a German hospital, 2 weeks of recovery, and he's well again. Or Not. In my state of denial, I am assuming that it takes a few months to completely get over the pain of surgery. And yet, it is his pain, not mine. And a mother feels his pain even more that her own. He's a gazillion miles away from home and I can do nothing. but Wait. I can pray that he will be well. that somehow it will all work out. that the man he spoke to on the street last week and cried with over family photo's will realize just how much the missionary loves being there talking with him. Do trials refine us? Make us better and stronger? Keep us in the game for one more pitch? Stay tuned...I think we are about to find out!
That's me 3rd from the right (the one with the bad tan line)at my son's wedding.
My what lovely flowers!
In the past few years I have learned about 1200 new things. This should not be happening to an over 40 person. Over 40's should know everything there is to know out there. From here on in it should be only sharing the wisdom we have, whether anyone wants to hear it or not. Nonetheless, since hitting the big 40 (which was a few years ago) I started a business with a friend, got a part-time job, started taking piano lessons and in just the last 2 hours started a blog and joined Facebook. All modern day miracles in my world. So here I am reaching out to all of you to finally have the chance to share all that wisdom I’ve been storing up. OK, maybe I’ll just dole it out one nugget at a time. Here is nugget of wisdom #1. You are NEVER too old to learn new things. You may not be very good at them, but you can learn. It’s good for you to reach out beyond your comfort zone and try something that is way out there. About 6 years ago my friend and I were busy helping out at a church function. Our job was officially “Table Centerpiece Committee Members”. Well, let me tell you, that got the ball rolling and 2 years and 5 or so freebie weddings later, we decided we needed to get paid for arranging flowers. We started a business called Our Perfect arrangement, which it is. We learned how to register our name and get a tax ID #. We enlisted the help of family and friends to guide us though excel spreadsheet invoices and accounting. We bought vases, snippers, floral tape, and wire. We worked every prom and Memorial Day. We took pictures of everything and now we have a full design book and are as busy as we want to be. It was a pretty bold move for us to make without years of schooling or millions in investors, but we figured we didn’t have a lot to lose and darn it, we do have style! Yeah, so don’t be afraid to learn…and hey blogging isn’t too hard either.