Photosynthesis

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 23:47:16 -0400

When I was in college, my grandfather sent me a check every month. In the memo line he always scrawled “For the Roses.” It was his short hand way of calling attention to a much longer message he’d imparted many times, “don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.” In other words… take a moment to enjoy your life. A pretty tall order for an overcommitted, overachieving, type-a college student.

And yet, I am nothing if not a conscientious rule follower. So, I found little ways to step outside of my usual serious and focused demeanor to seek out “fun.” Midnight trips with a friend to the grocery store for chocolate covered donuts. Elaborate holiday decorations in my dorm hallways each December. A road trip now and then. I cannot sit here today and account for every penny I received. However, I can tell you that little by little, I did begin to shed some of my linear thinking about getting THINGS done. If you are like me, you know what I mean by THINGS. And if not - don’t worry, I’ll get to them in another post.

Speaking of future posts, let me clarify my intent for this blog. Sadly, sometime between college graduation and now (~~has it really been 13 years?~~?) , I lost sight of those roses. Most of the time, I’ve either forgotten that they exist or have decided that they don’t matter. If I’m honest about it, I think I stopped paying attention altogether about 18 months ago. And along with them, bits and pieces of myself that I really used to like. So, I’ve decided to rekindle my relationship with these metaphorical roses and see where they take me (and blog about it on the way).

A few disclosures:

1) I’m a mom so you can expect me to tell stories and share the occasional picture or video of my little guy.

2) I’m not the funniest person you’ll ever meet, but I try and I’m usually more successful at humor when I’m writing.

3) This is only my second attempt at a blog - - the first was written when I was pregnant and had a heck of a lot more time on my hands. So please - go easy on me!

4) I actually really don’t like roses all that much… more on that later too.

FOR THE ROSES

Photosynthesis