10-9-8-7-6-5...

The countdown has begun!  In just a few moments I'll begin yet another trip around the sun.  What a great year this past one has been.

I often wonder if anyone is exactly where they thought they would be at a particular time (or age) in their lives.  It seems that we may not be able to define fully our expectations, but often we are genuinely aware that we simply aren't there.  It's paradoxical, in a way.  You can be pleased and yet feel as if something wasn't quite right, either.

I know because that's the way it used to be for me.  But, things are different now.  To love and be loved...there is nothing finer or more precious on this earth.  I suppose that most people cannot say that they have everything they ever dreamed of...nothing missing, nothing broken.  I can.  With a joyful spirit, I know how very blessed I am.  I have wonderful children, lots of them.  And I am so very proud of them.  They fill my heart with joy as it overflows with love and devotion.

I have two dozen of the most precious grandchildren in the universe, and my heart still melts when they run into my arms.  Ranging from one to twenty-one in age, they keep me forever young!  What a great job their parents are doing!

I have an amazing husband who has taught me the true meaning of making love...turns out it's a moment-by-moment thing, not so much 'just' a sexual thing.  He has devoted himself to helping me become the very best person that I can be.  My heart skips a beat when he looks my way and smiles.  Yes!  It's good to be the princess.

I have a heavenly Father who knows my name and hears me when I call.  My life is blessed with every good thing and when He looks at me, He smiles, too.  He pardons, with grace and mercy, all of my shortcomings and forgives me when I fail, encourages me to try again, and applauds me when I win! 

Yes, it really is a wonderful life!  All this...and heaven, too!

Each and every day, I thank God for the wonderful life He has planned for me.  One of the best things I have learned, I'm going to try and share with you today, my friends.

When I was teaching, it was my privilege to instruct some of the best students that ever walked the halls of Nocona Elementary School.  But, many times, I was the student.  I learned a lot from those kids...some great life lessons.  This is one of them:

One day a young man walked into my classroom.  He tilted his face and sniffed the air in deep breaths.  "What's that smell?" he demanded.
"Well, I don't know," I said, "is it a good smell or a bad smell?" 
He replied, "It's a GOOD smell."
I extended my arm and offered my wrist, "Could it be my perfume?"
"YES!" he exclaimed.
"Well," I said, "it's called 'Passion.'"
"I LIKE 'Passion,'" he said as he turned and walked to his desk.
Every day after that he would enter the room, sniffing.  Catching the familiar scent, he would look at me and smile and continue to his seat.
One day, however, he was shocked to discover that I wasn't wearing 'Passion.'
"That's NOT 'Passion,'" he stated.
"No," I said, "that's 'Opium.'"
He wasn't amused. He shuffled off, but I heard him whisper, "I like 'Passion.'"

Over the years, I have thought about that incident many times.  This is what I have learned.
When things are going the way we like it, we're happy and pleased, agreeable and friendly.  But, let one little thing change, and we get all bent-out-of-shape, and refuse to consider that the new option might be pleasant, too.  Perhaps, if we take the blinders off, we'll see life for what it is...a wonderful gift from God!  With all it's ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments, even on the worst days, it's still GOOD!

My gift to myself is to take time to 'smell' the changes.  Chances are, one fragrance is as pleasant as another.  If I resolve to look for the good, I will never be disappointed, for something good can come from every thing.

Mommie Dearest, even though I can no longer send you the special "Congratulations on your new baby girl" cards that I used to send on my birthday, even though I can't have the florist deliver the traditional bouquet to you on this very special day, I believe that you know how very happy I am.  I believe that my life is your bouquet.  I am dedicated to the blooms and buds that will bring you a sweet fragrance, wafting all the way to heaven's gates.  I'm in good hands now.  I'm healthy.  I'm happy.  And I am wonderfully blessed.