Dear Reader:

Yesterday Friday was Happy World Smile Day! And to tell you the truth I did smile a lot for all kinds of different reasons!

I realized when I woke up… for the first time I got my timing right on nausea pills , daily non/cancerous medications… and even though I certainly didn’t get a big helping of solid foods down… I did get some and it stayed! I felt like I had just run the mile in under a minute! Finally the break/through that my body was adjusting to ” Big Blue!” Hope was/ is alive and well!

Then I got some good news about an issue that had me worried concerning Ben … thanks to Ya Libby… my pathfinder. Brought much needed relief!

Smiles did abound in my tiny piece of the world … it felt so good to feel like “Slowly”my life as I knew it…might just have smiled and waved at me ! Or perhaps it was a God Wink!

Because we use GRATEFUL so much in everyday conversations … like ” Thank you” or ” Hello” … we must never downsize this word … it is too important. I started reading about ways to be more specific about expressing our appreciation and gratitude to others at a much deeper level!

And today… That person is YOU!

One suggestion was to list our favorite things about others…and even though I have never met many of you in person and probably never will… I still feel like I, somehow do know each of you!

Some of you have been there from the very beginning … from the first day I started the post-Chapelofhopestories! August 2010- thirteen years ago! Wow!

And the miracles started flowing in… like from Ambika from India who was living in Dubai and about to take an exam that would change her life forever… she had been up all night praying and sent out a desperate plea into cyberspace for HOPE and it arrived at Chapelofhopestories. Truly… what are the odds of that happening… she completed the examination successfully, returned to India , married, successful career and three adorable little boys!!!!!

So many of you original readers have remained so loyal… what an honorable attribute, many of you still check in occasionally to catch me up on your lives as time passes… I do love so to hear from you.

I think throwing caution to the wind and just putting our thoughts out there enrich everyone… if I have ever picked up a day for you… imagine this symbiotic relationship equally providing me with the same uplift I need also on any given day!

And everyone do consider a compliment on beauty to a friend or stranger. It can be a visual compliment, a heartfelt compliment for the beauty inside but case/in-point.

A few weeks ago when I went to Brooke’s …( my last normal weekend) before the flu and subsequent health breakdowns …Brooke and I went to their Cracker Barrel in Walterboro. ( Hard to believe I was enjoying eating) And we were browsing around and a gentleman who was working behind the counter came over to see if I needed assistance… He said ” I noticed you when you came in you look so pretty today. ”

Believe me… it was not a come on… just a friendly remark but when I sat down with Brooke ( my face flushed) I told her that I hadn’t received a compliment like that in so long.. it lifted my spirits more upward than anything else in a ” many a moon.”

I read an article how important it is to compliment people occasionally on their appearance ( not for appearance sake) but for recognizing their unique essence and it’s appeal… especially young teens like Eva Cate who desperately needs that reassurance since she is so critical of herself.

Friends and family often comment on attire but try saying something more specific ( you seem to be glowing or you look really vivacious today. )

We forget that no one gets too old to not want a compliment … we assume loved ones know this… yet how few times we give it or hear it verbally acknowledged.

So until tomorrow…

Dear Readers-the diversified attributes among you are awesome… positive, non-judgmental, upbeat, honest, endearing, heart-rendering , uplifting, and caring… What a lucky woman I am. With grateful heart, Boo

Today is my favorite day ! Winnie the Pooh

One funny….