I can’t say that everyday feels like a weekend because it doesn’t. I spend a great deal of time studying and enjoy the reading. But weekdays are clearly still weekdays on this sabbatical and weekends are very much a time for me to make time for studying and relaxing.
Today, Ed and I went to the Botanical Gardens as the weather was a beautiful 81 degrees. Needless to say, I couldn’t help but smell the roses that were still in bloom. Some smelled like lemons, others smelled like fresh gardened roses. The scent relaxed me and its been a long time since I stopped to smell the roses. The expression certainly means exactly as it states.
Our lives are so busy that we forget to stop and do the simple things that are right here in front of us. The same thing with laughter, love, hugs, compliments and just turning to the person you love and giving them a smile. It can make such a big difference in someones day.
We are becoming so automated and removed from the human touch that we don’t slow down until something goes terribly wrong. Life is very, very precious. I don’t mean to sound philophical but we take life, every bit of it, for granted. Yes, we all know we’re going to die one day but we don’t act as though we may die one day. We act immortal.
One day last week, a neighbors husband was working on his roof. A hobby he had taken up over the years. The house was an ongoing project as it is for many of us. He enjoyed working on his house and this was just another day doing what he enjoyed doing. Yet, something went terribly wrong. We’ll never know exactly what happened, whether he lost his balance or felt ill or whatever it was. He fell off that roof and hit the ground, and in an instant, his life, his families’ lives and his friends lives changed. His life, snuffed out quicker than the speed of light. Or at least faster than one could imagine. I can’t imagine the pain this family is going through and it makes me feel so terribly sad when someones life is cut short.
Did he tell his children he loved them that morning? Did he hug his wife and hold her close. Did his daughter ask for the car keys and give him a big smile? Did he stop to smell the roses that grow in his yard? It’s all so terribly painful to know that he died so tragically.
So, today when I told my children I loved them in a slightly different tone, and gave my husband a special hug, and gave my friends a serious smile, no one may have noticed the change, but I felt the need to stop, think and feel connected and smell the variety of roses that come across my path today.
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