“Give people flowers while they are still here.”
These are the wise words of my childhood pastor that have stayed with me a lifetime. I can’t remember the context or the message that brought about this statement. But they have stayed with me. Essentially, my pastor was encouraging us to tell the people that we appreciate how much they mean to us. So, this post has a two-part purpose–flowers to those who help us on our journey; flowers to those who recently helped us get “restored.”
Last week, Lamar and I were able to have a much-needed weekend getaway. Thanks to Restore Place, (a non-profit organization that provides respite for parents of special needs children) we have been fortunate to receive this getaway gift two years in a row. The getaway is the easy part; reading by the pool, sleeping late and eating junk food. The challenging part is getting to the getaway.
Parents leaving small children for a weekend away is no easy feat. Last Friday, in full prep mode, I swore I heard that silly, clownish song (the one you hear with the trumpets in the background of comedic scenes when someone is tripping over themselves, bumping into doors and having things fall onto them) as I got food prepped and stored, laid out clothes and penned a VERY long list of instructions for the caregivers. “This is crazy. So much work for a quick getaway,” I mumbled to myself with each added task.
Exhausted from the day of prep, we finally made it to our hotel room really late. Again, I thought, “So much work for a quick getaway.” But the mumbling stopped when I received the beautiful bouquet of flowers that you see above. Again, a sweet gift from our friends at Restore Place. The flowers made the mumbling stop. And I began to appreciate the moment and just kept thinking, “Flowers. Flowers.”
I’m throwing up a big fist pump that we pulled off the weekend even after our first childcare option fell through. It took a mountain of planning and prep, but we had our getaway. Yay us! But all the fun things we got to do on our trip would not have been possible without our friends and family who gave their time and read my long this-is-how-you-watch-our-kids-memo to take care of our kiddos.
I’m giving flowers to them all today. And just in case I don’t do it enough, I’m giving extra flowers to those who support us in all that we do. Watching our kids, encouraging us, donating to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation, running Juliana’s race and loving my blog!
You know who you are…and you are very much appreciated.
What a beautiful message to awake to on this early Sunday morning, Sabrina. You send “flowers” of joy and inspiration every time one reads your posts or is greeting with your wide smile! So glad you were able to get away! Hugs and love!
Thank you Tam! I’m so glad that I switched to Sunday mornings. I think it’s a great way to start or finish the week (depending on how one views it). You know I have a big bouquet for you, our biggest cheerleader:).