The Teacup Bouquet

Sometimes, moments are so precious, sweet, perfect, fun, fantastic, impressive, astonishing or awesome we feel like we'd like to stay in them forever. The other day I thought, " If I could have chosen a moment to stay in for the rest of this life, which one would it be?"                                            Perhaps it would have been the first time my mother held me securely in her arms, in her warm and gentle way, and I looked into her soft brown eyes for the very first time on my birth day, but then I would have missed ......when she let me scrape the bowl of her delicious lemon pie, the taste of strawberries right off the vine at Mr Kamper's , a "poor" old man Momma made pies for because no one else cared enough to make him one...

  If you have a daughter, or someday want children, you need to know something.  First of all, you are beautiful.  God made you precisely and intently and specifically.  Your daughter thinks you are beautiful.  She looks at you with admiration, with trust, with an innocent view.  She thinks you are the loveliest woman she knows.  Take caution with your words in front of her.  "I just need to lose a few pounds", "nothing looks good on me", "I can't go out without makeup on".  Common sayings among women. But your daughter is listening.  She is learning.  She is mimicking.  Ladies, please don't cause your daughter to think that you are not beautiful, radiant, and lovely.  Sadly, she, too, will soon begin to believe what you say about yourself just as much as you believe it.  Sadder still,  eventually she'll probably believe those things about herself.  Teach her self respect, dignity and self worth through your...

A moment I shall never forget: when my mother stopped breathing. On August 9, 2012 , only moments after the doctor said she was well enough to go home from the hospital, I found myself standing in the corner of an emergency room in that same hospital with a medical team surrounding her bed. The team worked like a well running machine - attaching monitors, inserting an IV, drawing blood, - at least 10 of them working with speed and precision. As the team worked, I watched her eyes become fixed, unmoving; she did not respond to the nurse shouting in her ear, but seemed to be staring at something only she could see. In a matter of mere seconds, her skin turned a strange gray color as the shadow of death passed over her. Then I heard someone on the medical team say. She's not breathing....bag her! A team member placed a bag over her face and squeezed air - she began to breathe again. Then, she began to seizure. I watched, helpless, understanding how fragile life itself is; I knew in ...