Dear Reader:

Last week…I stopped by Hallmark to pick up a Mother’s Day card and happened to glance at the bag they put the card in…the more I read the message on the front the more I liked it.

“Keep your heart Brave and your Imagination WILD!” It is just my kind of quote…combining the best of two traits as we go through life.

It never ceases to amaze me, how in hindsight, conditions that were less than optimal in our childhoods, contribute to the very qualities in ourselves that come to define us. It was my imagination and ability to live in storybooks when life got “too real” that lead to my creativity, intuitive connections to all things in the universe, and love of story.

If my life had been different…so would I. And to tell you the truth ‘Becky and myself’ have become friends in our later years. I can finally accept and live with my weaknesses and recognize my strengths when needed because of the role model provided me by an extraordinary mother and family.

God never left me, even in my most unlovable, rebellious days…in fact He held on tighter during those days. What a friend I do have in Jesus, in God. An unwavering friend whose love and loyalty is beyond measurement or comprehension.

Leaving Edisto and the Ya’s today is always bittersweet…but this time the mood is lightened because I am meeting a wonderful friend, Roz, and her husband Ed (Van Alstyne) at Oscars for lunch. We taught together, beside each other, across the hall from each other, for many years in the social studies department at Alston.

Then Ed and Roz moved to Indiana which made me very sad…but I must admit they have faithfully returned annually to the South Carolina beaches which has given us an opportunity to catch up on each other’s lives. Thanks Roz and Ed! (Talk about unwavering friends…that they are!)

So I am heading home and will be recollecting memories and photos to share tomorrow.

So until tomorrow….Imagine your life they way you want to live it…and then go live it!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh