Stop and Smell the Roses

Scratching the paint on a three-day-old new car or spilling red paint on a closet floor may seem really important at the time. But looking at the whole scheme of life, maybe not.

In two years, I have scratched the paint on this car twice! I am thinking, ‘What is it about me and this car?’

A number of years ago, I had a flat tire in the middle of Arizona at a national park. The tires were new, but one of them picked up a tack somewhere along the way… thankful for American Automobile Association (AAA).

One night around 10 p.m., I walked into a ‘lake of water’ in one of the bathrooms! What plumber would make a house call after 10 p.m.? Ours did! He was there by 10:30 p.m. and did a temporary fix until he could later install a new hot water heater…amazing.

On a holiday weekend, I noticed water seeping out from under the house! Our faithful plumber came and made temporary repairs to get us through the holiday…grateful.

The washer went out in the middle of a wash on Saturday morning. There was nothing we could do about it at the moment. I closed the door, and we went shopping for the day!

Driving to school one day, my daughter hit black ice. The little Volkswagen slid and rolled. The car was totaled, but she was unhurt…thankful.

And there was the trip to Italy a few years ago.

I had been to Italy twice before, but this was a special family trip. The night before leaving on our international flight, I slipped and fell in an Atlanta hotel. I was in great pain but decided if I could manage to pull my own luggage, I would not ruin the family trip by canceling. I took a lot of pain meds each day and managed to make it through. On returning home, I went to the doctor and found out I went to Italy with two cracked ribs!

We might ask what is really important in life? There are so many things, but let’s be thankful for family and our health. And we must be thankful for the privilege of living in America.

So, don’t fret about the small things in life. Let’s just “stop and smell the roses!”