Dear Reader:

We know February is “officially” here now because the first bloom off my Yellow Jessamine vine burst open from its tiny tight buds …on February 1, exactly 94 years to the day that the South Carolina General Assembly adopted the yellow jessamine as the state flower.

The State Flower of South Carolina has the most delicate fragrance of all the early spring flowers. I can hardly wait until the next bunch of buds spring open…so exciting and so aromatic! It will definitely brighten the gray skies of winter. Parts of the state flower can be  used by herbalists to treat eye ailments. I wish I knew which parts…maybe it could spare me from getting my left eye zapped Monday! 🙂

It doesn’t seem like five years ago Joan Turner and I teamed up to create a little fictional children’s story about the state flower of South Carolina. So much fun!

Joan…we will have to do another literary adventure again…if for no other reason than I can get another wonderful painting from you! I adore this cover.

…And speaking of timely…my lovely daughter-in-love, Kaitlyn, wrote another wonderful blog two days ago…on (what else) time! I asked her if I could “steal” it and put it on my blog today and she graciously agreed. ( Later I told her I needed to read it over and over…because time is the hardest thing for me to keep track of…it is like an invisible friend who appears and then disappears out of nowhere.)

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“Reset” (Legally OHm)

How often do you think you’ve muttered the phrase, “I simply don’t have time”? I’m willing to bet more than you can count. The truth is, we have time for what we make time for – we have time for what is truly important. The question then is what’s important to you?

When I start thinking about time management, it makes me re prioritize my life. If I want to go to more yoga, it might mean sacrificing an additional hour or so of sleep so I can get to the studio before work. If I’m going to get up earlier to go to  yoga, it means getting my butt in bed earlier to get adequate sleep. If I’m going to sleep earlier, it means eating at a reasonable time and turning off the TV so I can get to bed. There are various “sacrifices” and rearrangements that might need to take place to “make time” for what’s important.

Other times we just have to let things go to make time. When I suggest people take a break from their work or studies or responsibilities and do whatever helps them reset, I get the no time excuse A LOT. I’ve said it myself. The thing is, it’s those moments of drowning and being overwhelmed when you need the time the most. When my wi-fi is down or the phone goes haywire, the first thing we do is look for the savior red reset button. Somehow with the press of that little button everything goes back to “normal”. The same is true for us. We need to reset when things get crazy or the status quo just isn’t working. One or two hours is not going to make or break you – if it is, maybe reevaluate priorities and planning.  It’s likely that you’ll perform better after hitting the reset button.

Tommy and I were staying with one of his friends from college, and I was talking to his wife. I asked her about her routine with two little girls. She told me she goes to the gym every morning at 5:45 to work out because she knows it’s the only time she can, and if she doesn’t get that time to herself, she’s not the same person. Saturday is her no gym sleep in day, and she treasures it. She has clearly identified what’s important to her and organized ways to make these happen – it helps that her husband is sweet to get the girls up and going in the morning (teamwork, right?)

When we don’t make time for ourselves, it’s close to impossible to make time for anyone or anything else. It’s like running on empty.

So the next time that you feel like you just might explode, or you don’t know how to get everything done maybe just stop and hit the reset button.

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So until tomorrow:

Thank you Kaitlyn…my finger is already poised on the “reset” button as I type. And since you were kind enough to let me use your wonderful message today…I am making time to go on a longer walk than usual and enjoy God’s happy beauties. For this…I am most grateful that your “reset” button “reset” mine too! 🙂

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

ANOTHER TIMELY EVENT…PHIL THE GROUNDHOG

Phil the groundhog stepped out of his cozy little house to the roar and applause of the thousands of American who have gathered to witness the prophetic rodent.

Folklore legends surrounding the mystical groundhog stipulate that if Phil sees his shadow today, he is spooked into returning to his burrow, thus predicting another six weeks of winter.

Unfortunately for Phil, Pennsylvania and the rest of the US, the rodent “told” his trustworthy inner-circle of tuxedo-clad men that another six weeks of bitter cold are at hand.

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BOO PHIL!…BUT THEN AGAIN HE ISN’T TOO ACCURATE WITH HIS PREDICTIONS SO PREDICTING WRONG…MIGHT END UP PREDICTING RIGHT!  (Any way that’s how I see it! 🙂 )

*Thanks everyone for all the prayers for Jakie!!!…he returned to the doctor yesterday (third time this week) and his lungs were clear….We are so relieved…the doctor said that this particular strand of flu is lasting up to ten days or more…so even though it seems like a long time (especially running fever) it is just part of the process…Little Jakie is just going to have hang tight and stick with the additional antibiotics, oxygen mask/breathing treatments, and drinking lots of fluids. I know it was all your prayers that gave him an encouraging  report for recovery. Patience…Patience…Patience. Prayer, Prayer, Prayer.

*Minnie Mouse might have just gotten a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood but I think Mary Lou McGee deserves a star too. She is a cancer warrior of the highest degree of courage and humor. She is taking all her children and grandchildren to Disney World …her 36th return over the years…a special magical place in her family’s scrapbooks.

Kathy Worthington and her husband Larry drove to Orlando to surprise Mary Lou as she got off the plane! What else are BFF’s for than making a friend’s day! Look at the expression on both their faces.

Don’t forget this saying from Peter Pan, Mary Lou, and all of you will fly through Disney World,  enjoying the happiness of magic and being together as a family…and perhaps Tinker Bell will appear with some magical pixie dust…you just have to believe! Have the time of your life!