Niece Flower

Todays flower is the Niece Flower. Now I have more than one niece, actually I have 3. But today’s post is for the newest flower in my garden – Princess Lola Sophia! This precious little flower is almost 8 months old and I am extremely sad that I am missing her growing up in person. Thank god for Facebook and Skype! I have only seen her once in her short life and it’s not nearly as much as I, or her mother, would like. 

There are a lot of reasons why this flower is so precious to me. 1 – she is my baby sister’s baby. 2 – she is the first little girl in my garden since my own little princess was born 20 years ago. 3 – she is an angel. I could just go on and on but I’m sure you can get the idea. Even though I wasn’t there for her birth, I felt the connection through her mom. By the way, her mom was my “sister flower” on yesterday’s post (just in case you didn’t figure that out). This alone makes her special. Thanks to technology and the internet, I got to be there for her mommy’s ultrasound even though I was on the other side of the country. I found out it was a girl the same time as her mommy and daddy. Also, the fact that she has 3 older brothers …well, let’s just say we were sooooooooooooo happy to buy pink! She was born on July 14, 2010 and shares the birthday of my son, her Godfather. It was September before I actually met her in person and she was so tiny and perfect. After all the big babies in our family it was a nice surprise. So dainty and petite. Did I mention perfect?

She will never want for love or protection. She is the center of the universe practically. I’m not even joking. Her brothers dote on her and she’s quickly getting use to being called a princess and not having to wait her turn like everyone else. Actually, everyone else would rather wait than have her cry. She is already a huge shoe fan and loves Elvis…right mom? Her first real smile, the one that showed her dimple, was when the Princess Bride was on and I unwittingly repeated this phrase “will you promise not to hurt him?” (you need to say this with a british accent) … and I got it on camera.  Now to anyone else, this may not seem significant but believe me when I say …. It Is!

She is the very image of everything that is right in the world. The essence of love and by far the most delicate flower in my garden. Because of her place as the newest member of my garden……she gets two pictures!

The "Princess Bride" Smile

Lola & Mommy

Sister Flower

Well, I’ve finally decided on how I’m going to use my blog. I’m going to use each new post as an opportunity to recognize one flower in my garden. Much like counting your blessings but different.  They won’t be in any particular order of preference or importance because each of my flowers is unique and holds a special spot in my heart. Each one as important as they are unique.

Today’s flower is the sister flower. My baby sister to be precise. She bloomed into my garden when I was almost 13 years old and took my spot as the baby in the family. Something I’ve been ever grateful for and as I constantly tell her … she saved my life. Being the youngest can be as much of a burden as a blessing but it was a spot I gladly relinquished. Because of her entrance I received more freedoms and liberties as a teenager than I could ever have hoped for as the baby. She was so adorable and we all loved her sooooo much. I was her Da……….then and now. As my older siblings moved on to make their own lives it was just me and her. She did homework with me, read books with me, and went everywhere I couldn’t manage to sneak away without her. Spelling words like “shop” “store” “playground” became increasingly less useful as her little mind was always one step ahead. When I got married and moved out she was 7 years old. It was not as much fun as I had thought, for either of us. But even though there was distance and age……we remained incredibly close. I was there for her grade 6 graduation, grade 12 graduation, college graduation, birth of her first two children,  maid of honor at her wedding……I’m sure you get the picture. There was even a brief period of time when she lived with me. Oh that was too much fun. Taking naps during “Wishbone” and making up jokes while doing the dishes are fond memories.  My kids loved her from day one and my little girl never called her by her name ever…….she was Sissy from the time she could talk. Even after all these years…..let’s just not say how many… she is still Sissy to her. And my baby girl is now the Godmother of “Sissy’s” baby girl.

Even though many years separate us, we have so much in common. We are attracted to the same type of man, love the same movies, music and go nuts over the same actors. Let’s just say that Batman IS Val Kilmer and Elvis IS the King of Rock & Roll.  Blue Christmas is what we listen to when we miss each other and our favorite movies are: The Princess Bride, The Mummy, The Labyrinth and White Christmas. There are others but these are definitely in the top 10. We also have a thing for Pigs…….don’t ask.

We also have a special psychic connection. The ability to know when the other needs a phone call. We experience emotions in excess and try never to be sad at the same time. I love her as much as if she was my own child and she knows this. We do have our moments when we disagree but we do not let it affect our unique relationship. The men in our lives (well her’s now because I don’t have one….man or life lol) know that if they try to make us choose ……. they will lose. It’s just that simple. So when I show up at her door for a week and take over as Auntie Da, her husband takes it all in stride.

Because of our unique relationship, I have an equally unique relationship with her children. However, they are flowers to be displayed in another post. To say the least, my sister is my friend. It’s something we never take for granted and never will. It doesn’t matter where we go or what happens in our life……my sister and I remain solid. My garden has been so much brighter since she came into it and I’m thankful each and every day. So this post is in honor of my #1 Sisler………………love you! (and no, that is not a typo).

Weekend

Here I am on a Sunday morning having tea and it’s a little before 9 am. I think I may have lost my mind! So here’s the deal…I hate mornings…all mornings. I am just not a morning person. However, this weekend has caused me to be out of bed earlier than I would like on a weekend. I truly live for my weekends. Every morning of the week I am up before dawn, around 5:30 am and getting ready for work. I count down every day to Friday so that I get two mornings to sleep in. Yesterday I was up multiple times before I actually needed to be. Beckie (my baby girl) and I went out to the ranch to get horses feet trimmed. We left here around 10:30am. Definitely not an acceptable time for a Saturday. It was good though. Spent the afternoon with some great people, including one of the brightest flowers in my garden, my daughter! Time spent with her is never wasted and I can never get enough. This morning I’m up because I’m having a girl’s day with a co-worker / friend, her sister, and maybe more I don’t know. I’m doing this because I desperately need a life and if that means I have to sacrifice a few weekend sleep-ins, than I guess I’m willing. So today will be filled with a manicure, lunch and movie and more laughter than I’m prepared for I’m sure. Hat’s off to weekends…….whether I sleep in or not………they are definitely what I live for.

Hello world!

I guess this is where I welcome everyone to my garden. It’s full of beautiful and unique flowers, plants, trees and, like every garden, a few weeds. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between a flower-to-be and a weed. I decided to blog with the hopes of making sense of my currently chaotic garden, pull some weeds and nurture the beauty that lies hidden inside. It’s more of a therapy for me and maybe a source of inspiration for others. I welcome all comments. I’m not saying that I’ll like them all but sometimes we need to be open to the fact that, God forbid, we’re not always right! So enjoy your walk through my garden, take the time to smell the roses and always remember ….. we are not promised a tomorrow.