Monday Musings

Today I'm delighted to get back to school after a wonderful weekend. First, a thank you to Theresa over at Trifecta Book Reviews, for giving me a Sunshine Blogger award. Click the sunflower graphic to read her kind words and show her some love.

Second, a fun story. The boys went dewberry picking on Saturday afternoon while I napped, so we made a batch of Kolaches between rounds of a riveting game of Estimate late into the night. In fact, these little fruit-filled yeast pastries didn't even come out of the oven until right at midnight.

As yummy as they are, two dozen is way too many for the four of us to devour, so we set out yesterday morning to share. First, we decided to take one to our server when we went to breakfast. John wasn't too sure about that idea, because "we don't know her," but I thought it might be a nice way to express our thanks for giving up her Mother's Day to serve us. I was so excited, but wasn't sure it'd be well received when she came by to take our drink order because she didn't seem necessarily friendly or happy. But who would want to work on such a special occasion? 

So I kind of understood. 

After she took our order, I handed her a decorated lunch bag with the Kolache wrapped in foil and a little note of thanks for being our server. She came back to the table to thank us, and I knew we'd done a good thing when she said with a nostalgic smile that she hadn't had a homemade Kolache in over thirty years. She went on to reminisce about how her Grandmother used to make them: poppyseed, prune, and cottage cheese. John and I shared a knowing glance and she was off, with what I think was a little spring in her step. We also took some to my friends Jane Ann and Carol and their families. Today I'm taking a half dozen to a few of my colleagues at work. Such a thrill to share.

Finally, I cleaned out a closet to get ready for a delivery of my books and I found some treasured mementoes from over the years. This one is really special, because it came from my mentor Sally. It's interesting, too, because she worked next door and I'm not sure how she got one of our compliment forms to fill out for me.

Now that she's no longer with us on our earthly journey, it really means a lot to still have her words of encouragement cheering me on. She had a beautiful, warm smile, loving kindness in her eyes, and a heart of pure gold. I'm sure Joel Osteen was talking about Sally when he said, "The best legacy is not what we leave FOR people, but what we leave IN people."

It's almost a year since the Lord called Sally to her heavenly home,

and I still miss her every single day. What I wouldn't give to sit down together just one more time and tell her how much I love her and thank her for the joy she brought to my life.

Whom will you be a gift to today?