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Week 2:

"Dead people receive more flowers than the living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude." 
– Anne Frank

While debating whether or not I was going to do this flower journey I ran across this quote. It hit hard! Wow, how many people have I failed? How many opportunities have I missed to tell someone, "hey, you are valued and I see you?" This quote, confirmed I needed to do this, because I want the people in my life to know they are loved while they are living. Instead of their loved ones knowing they were loved after they are gone. 

My junior year of high school my Uncle James lost his battle to cancer. He had three kids and a fourth on the way. After his funeral mom created a tradition in our home, Christmas letters. Each year every member of our family had a piece of paper with their name at the top and everyone in the family had to write a kind note, mom wanted all of us to know and have a reminder that we are loved and valued. You see, at my uncle's funeral mom heard all these wonderful testimonies about James and she wondered, did any of these people say these things to him? Did he know these good things while he was alive? 

The same thing happened at her funeral. We heard story after story of how mom blessed someone. How amazing, wonderful, smart, and talented she was… Did any of them ever tell her? I did, I told her because of our Christmas letters tradition, but did I say it often enough? Did I ever tell her, her worth outside of those letters? Do I tell my own children, or my husband their worth often enough? 

Why is it so easy for us to say kind words or give flowers to loved ones after they're gone? Why is it easy to speak kind words about a person when it's too late? What good are those words if they aren't here to hear them? What good are those flowers if the person can't smell them? 

Please hear my heart; I'm not saying we can't have flowers at funerals, because I expect a full room of flowers at mine. I'm not saying we can't speak kindness at a funeral, because I hope you have kind words to say about me. My point is, why wait until someone is gone to tell them their worth? Take time to celebrate life while people are living, don't wait until someone is gone to celebrate. Make the choice to make gratitude stronger than regret, and invest in the living. 

This week someone very dear to me celebrated her birthday. I love birthdays. If it didn't mean working weekends I would've been a birthday party planner, because I love everything that birthdays are: the decorations, the cake, the chaos, and the celebration of another year. And this week I wanted to honor my sister-in-law Ivone. This woman is probably one of the strongest women I know. She is a mother to three amazing kids, six, four and two. She's already completed TWO (yeah not one but TWO) marathons and is thinking about training for her THIRD! Talk about overachiever! HA! I can barely run a mile, let alone 26.2 of them. 

I hope these flowers remind her that she is valued, loved, and her hard work hasn't gone unnoticed. She is loyal, kind, beautiful, smart, and does whatever it takes to get the job done. She loves selflessly, she invests in those she loves; and her relationships are a reflection of her dedication to them. Her optimistic attitude is contagious. She inspires me to achieve my goals, to look for the good, and to invest in the people I love. I pray she will continue to "rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances," and I trust that she had a wonderful birthday, because another year of life is something that should always be celebrated. Happy birthday to you and here's too many more years of happiness. I am so proud to call you family and am honored to have you walk through life with me and my family. 



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