Dear Reader:

If there were one word that sums up how we lived our life…( by the end of it)…it would be “CHOICE.”  Love, hope, faith, laughter, and compassion all come into play certainly, but only if we make the choice to prioritize these positive attributes early in life… and continue to value and honor them every single day of it.

Daily we see choices around the world being made concerning the coronavirus…resulting in the outcomes of these decisions…good or bad.

Servicespace.org discusses these choices in their latest website news.

“Uncertain times raise significant questions that can architect the arc of our future. Carbon emissions have dropped dramatically, but xenophobia is rising. Government surveillance is increasing, while global cooperation is going up. Shopping malls are empty, but family meals are on the rise.

Awakening of compassion is pervasive, but the inequality of human suffering is evident. In a context of “social distancing”, neighbors lean out of their windows to sing songs together. Borders are still present, but the boundaries of our shared humanity are getting blurry. Still, undercurrents of fear are everywhere, but so are prayers. May we step into our highest aspirations to serve this inflection point in history.”

How we one day remember the 2020 pandemic (in the aftermath) will solely depend of how we approached each day within it.

Already I am developing different feelings towards mundane house chores I rarely bothered with…even after being retired and having time to do them. Now I am cooking meals almost every night just for me…preferring it to take-out or restaurant sent-in.

I haven’t cooked this much since all the children were still at home. I am enjoying the creative part of putting odds and ends I find in the freezer/refrigerator and cabinets together…to make casseroles with such a strange diversity of food items I would have laughed a month ago..now I am eating it happily!

I am cleaning out closets, cabinets, cleaning the kitchen with intensity…the virus has got me doing what I should have been doing all along.

One of my greatest memories will be friends stopping by with snacks, meals, books, cards to surprise me and make my day. *Yesterday as I was waiting on the Publix driver to drop off my weekly list…Susan Cadwell dropped by with the most delicious meal which included homemade mac and cheese…I haven’t eaten so good and healthy in months but now I am…every night!

Remember Mike bringing me my cheese puffs…he was told (by his adorable cheeto wife Dee) to return and bring me two bags this time (which he did yesterday)…too funny…if anyone out there is craving cheetos…stop by, we can share and throw them at each other six feet apart…catching them with our mouths. 🙂 Cheeto Contest!

My whirling butterflies gauna plant is up and swaying with little whirling “butterflies”…I love to watch them when the breeze blows!

Today is a special benchmark day! Yes it is April 1 and April Fool’s Day, it is also “Say Rabbit Rabbit” Day (for good luck) for the first day of the month…but today is also Tommy and Kaitlyn’s professional benchmark day as they are now invested in the ownership of the law firm in which they work. Styles & Dingle LLC !

After their recent home fire and a lot of craziness… including finding a new place to reside until they can move back in their house and get the Air-B&B side up and going again too things have settled down for this memorable day…this is a special moment they have worked hard for and imagined in their dreams; And now, thanks to Brooks Styles, it is coming true on this special date. April 1, 2020

Congratulations Tommy and Kaitlyn…take time to celebrate this accomplishment and a big thank you goes out to Brooks Styles (original owner) from a proud mother.

Brooks, you have been extraordinarily generous with your time and expertise… teaching and role modeling for both Tommy and Kaitlyn … I hope this continues for a long time. Thank you Brooks from the bottom of my heart for giving them this once-in-a lifetime amazing opportunity!

Don’t forget to say “Rabbit, Rabbit” this morning to have good luck all month…let’s hope this is the month the coronavirus decides to start unraveling and leaving our planet behind…with love and hope intact.

So until tomorrow…”Every choice you make in your life helps make you.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

One of the best choices I ever made was to take Honey Burrell up on her offer to go see St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope in Trust, NC…it changed my life and was the impetus for writing this blog.

*This little bird house replica of the Chapel of Hope (Michele gave  to me) reminds me of that special day Honey introduced me to the little chapel in the woods.

Today’s “Funny” 🙂