sometimes you just need to stop and smell the roses

at 5:30 this a.m., kevin rolls out of bed. lucky me gets to sleep 2 more hours. he kisses me on my forehead at 6:00 a.m. and he is out the door. 7:30 rolls around and here i am not wanting to get out of those cozy sheets and get ready for work. but, of course, i do.

kevin's maid comes every wednesday. as i was getting ready she is watering flowers and plants and doing everything to stay out of my way. see, sharon, kevin's maid, is partially deaf. she is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. she has lived a tough life. just listening to her, when you walk away, you feel so much compassion. but she is always optimistic. she loves to tell me about her children and how much she misses them. she told me today that her children were coming down to stay with her for a whole week. she was thrilled. every wednesday she brings kevin and i a bottled water. just because. she tells me how pretty i am and how skinny i am. that i look good today. and always always tells me, as i am ironing my clothes, that she is glad that kevin has me. that she likes us together:) she loves to talk.

so she inspired me....
today when i was dreading getting out of bed, i shouldn't. because i am alive and well and i have nothing to complain about. and when i complain about school and how i never have time, well some people never have the opportunity to go to school at all. so i am lucky. or when i think what i want for dinner, to eat out or not eat out, tons of americans and people all over the world don't ever get to eat a big mac or a filet. and i do pretty often.

waking up today, i felt compassionate. i never have to wake up at 5:30 a.m. and rush out the door for a long day at work, my days are pretty easy and i really have no reason to ever complain.

we live in such a selfish society. no one ever wants to really share about there lives or listen about someone elses, they just want to judge and worry about their own. if everyone would take a few minutes out of their "BUSY" days and just listen to someone who needs it, this world would be a much happier place. and also, just to wake up is such a blessing. like i do every morning, i open the blinds to see what the day will look like, and almost everyday is such a beautiful day. and i (we) take it for granted so much.

so starting today i made a promise to myself that i will take in all the beauty in the world and promise to listen to any one who has the desire for me to listen. to love life to the fullest and love the people in my life as much as my heart can.

"I want to be remembered as the girl who always smiles even when her heart is broken. And the one that could always brighten up your day even if she couldnt brighten her own."