Dear Reader:

I do like playing in the dirt and have missed it the past few weeks with the craziness of the holidays and the “elevator” weather that has swung back and forth, like a pendulum throughout Christmas, (and obviously will continue the habit this weekend…BURRR!)

So since the rain had just softened the ground, Tuesday, I thought it was time, yesterday, to put the beautiful camellia plant Honey gave me, at Christmas, deep in the ground to keep it snug and warm through the upcoming chilly days.

There is something so satisfying about planting anything…a seed, a bulb, a flowering plant….because you know, deep inside, you are adding  life to this planet. Pretty powerful when you think about it. And another God Wink…the name of this Southern Living camellia plant is: Magic Dawn. Magic played a central theme throughout this year’s Christmas. I have a feeling this plant will be magical in beauty.

As I was digging the hole…I could hear the cries of distant geese, Dakota, my neighbor’s dog, barking for my attention (to come play ball) the buses dropping off grateful children from school, and then extended periods of silence where Old Man Winter could be barely heard whispering “I’m coming…I”m coming”…are you ready?”

I have noticed more often than not, when I am around close friends the topic of the importance of time alone each day creeps into the conversation more and more. I am a social person and don’t like being alone for extended periods…but each day I physically and emotionally crave my “alone” time. It is used more for reflection than anything but it is, also, my “equalizer” time.

I make myself think of how many blessings I have in comparison to just a few annoyances….not only do the two sides equal out…the blessings weigh the scales down in its favor…hands down. So stop with the whining and complaining Becky…you are getting on my nerves sometimes. Instead…what a wonderful gift we have in our lives…the gift of time alone to keep re-introducing our changing selves to our constant souls!

When we use terms, like ‘dead of winter‘ it allows us to sink into a melancholy state of mind sometimes…but being blessed to live in the lowcountry (in a semi-tropical geographical zone)…we are never without beauty blooming year around.

Right now I am looking out my side (computer room) window and realize that I have five pink sasanqua blooms on my tree-sized bush, on the other side of the driveway, where there were only two yesterday…with more buds to open than one can count…continuous beauty. Nothing is really dead…just resting and waiting for the right time to resurrect.

I have also discovered that just adding something bright to the landscape can change our frame of mind too….as I glanced over the garden, after cutting off some dead limbs and stems, I thought to myself that a bright new garden flag would perk things up for the winter…and then remembered I got one for Christmas…Duh.

It is perfect…a winter owl welcoming everyone to the garden for peace, serenity, and solitude, as needed!

I like the following two quotes because the season of winter is conducive to home time and “me” reflection time.

“Winter is the time for comfort – it is the time for home.” Edith Sitwell

“There is no privacy that other seasons give you…In spring, summer, and fall… people have an open season on each other; only in the winter, can you have longer quiet stretches when you savor belonging to yourself.”

Okay, now for my true confession…this most idiotic display of my total lack of concentration on mundane things, will make anything you have ever done pale, most likely, in comparison. (It gave the CVS pharmacists a hoot and a story to remember for awhile.)

Some of the pills I take daily are in capsule form and easy to take with water but I have a few that are caplets and taste horrible…even for those mere seconds it is on my tongue before swallowing…so I take these with a couple of swigs of diet coke to disguise the bitter taste.

A few days ago I finished breakfast and got ready to take the first two pills of the day…one I had already taken with some water and the other I waited to take until I got my cap off the diet coke. Done…taken. Now to wait til lunch for the next round and then supper and bedtime for the last rounds.

My mind must have already jumped to something else going on later in the morning because as I went to put the top on my caplet pills something felt wrong. It didn’t stop at the top, like normal, but slide inside the bottle.

I jerked alert and looked down into my medicine bottle and there was my diet coke cap wedged securely halfway down the bottle. No squeezing or running a knife between the cap and bottle would free it. I had to go to CVS anyway to pick up another prescription and so, with a red face, I got in the Consultation queue.

When it was my turn I nervously laughed at the young girl and said “I am going to hand you something that you probably haven’t seen to date in your pharmaceutical experiences.” Suddenly she looked curious at the bottle I was holding. I took off the correct top and showed her the wedged diet coke cap halfway down the bottle.

“Cool” she said, laughing, I can hardly wait for this challenge.” Almost immediately I noticed two other workers were looking, asking questions, staring back at me strangely, and then laughing. Apparently they reached a conclusion on best how to eject the stuck cap. Someone took out some ‘pliers-like’ instrument and with a loud pop the coke cap went flying across the pharmacy bouncing off the wall on the other side. When the girl returned she asked if I would like my coke cap back. I politely declined and told them they could keep it as a souvenir to remember me by.

Here is a visual I took before leaving for CVS. I had tried knifing it out….turned it upside down and pounded on the bottom…squeezed it as hard as I could (the plastic they make medicine bottles out of today is tough…wouldn’t budge at all)

So the next time you do something ‘dumb’…just remember me and you will feel so much better.

So until tomorrow….Let us remember to create little islands of solitude for ourselves to help us stay focused on what is really important in life. Take time to delight in your own unique self!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh