On my morning jaunt to my coffee maker, there is a large picture window in the living room framing a massive camellia bush. This time of year, an involuntary smile beams with each passing. My camellias are blooming. There are literally hundreds of blooms on this bush and all of them just for me.
How well I remember the first Valentine's Day as a single lady. I would literally cringe thinking of "that day" coming. How vivid the memory of leaving work and going to the mall is. I bought myself a wonderful gift, my very first fountain. Somehow in our minute minds, we build up these expectations over silly things that absolutely do not matter. At that point in my life, Valentine's Day was a glaring reminder that I was a failure. I was one of those who had the table set in bold red for 2 solid weeks. I baked a heart shaped, strawberry flavored cake each year and celebrated wildly. And the arrival of this day which I wrongly assumed was for couples only, made me as crazy as a sprayed roach. There are many Valentines in my life and it's my duty to celebrate with them. My children and sisters now receive my adoration.
My co-workers got the biggest laugh over me buying my own gift, but it was the beginning of a healing process. I was my own Valentine! Come the next year, I purchased a red wheelbarrow for myself. Again, a gift for me. Every year I get extremely wonderful gifts (exactly what I want!). And the good Lord above sends me the biggest bouquet of all, a full blooming camellia bush in my very own front yard.
It's quite special being His Valentine.=)
2 comments:
Love it! And your blog!
Bro. Jerome Bourn was at my church for Keith Sartin's wedding Saturday, and I asked him where you fit on that Bourn family tree. He told me you were Bro. Charles Bourn's daughter! I know him. He preached several revivals for us over the years!
I also have met Bro. Joel Bourn, as his daughter Tonisa graduated from JCM the same year my Andrea did. They were roomates at the start...they put the oldest student (Tonisa at 29) and the youngest student (Andrea at 15) together. Different interests led to Andrea moving in with another girl, and I think Tonisa had her own room.
Anyway, nice to "meet" you. We love the Bourn family. We went to Bro. Jerome's church in Houston when we went to Astroworld one family vacation.
I had told Sis. Gloria Sartin about Andrea buying a 100 year old mansion in Alexandria to restore and how it still had the original pocket doors, which are rare to find in these old houses as they are usually covered up or pulled out. She told me Bro. Jerome Bourn had bought a house and when working on it discovered under layers of paint and wood the original pocket doors that had been covered up. His carpentry skills are all over our new church post Katrina.
Love your blogs!
http://perpetualrenovator.wordpress.com/
That is Andrea's blog, mostly about the renovations of her house and the two bungalows on either side that she also purchased for restoration.
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