On a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago I had to get out of the house for a few hours because our realtor was holding an open house to try to sell the darn thing. It was just Sam and I because Peter and John were both away, so I decided to use the free time to go to Elizabeth Park in West Hartford. And once I was there I asked myself, Why did it take over four years of living just 20 minutes from here to go to this beautiful place? It's home to a rambling world-famous rose garden that is absolutely beautiful. Roses are my favorite flower, and I would have liked coming here often while we lived in Connecticut. So why didn't I?
The reason: I tend to be a Type-A personality who is naturally beholden to schedules and routines, time management, and to-do lists. There are benefits of being that way but there are downsides too. It has literally interfered with taking the time to stop and smell the roses. It took having no choice but to leave the house and break with routine for me to go to that lovely place. Going to the rose garden that day helped me to see that sometimes you just have to forget about time, schedules, and to-do lists and take an afternoon, a day, or a weekend to go out and do something fun, new, and refreshing.
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The moral of the story: Nothing groundbreaking here, but it really is good to see and do new things. It's good for the soul, and it contributes to a happy and well-lived life. Let loose and live a little! That's my new motto. I've learned my lesson and I won't be making the same mistake in our new home. When I find out about good things to see and do around here, I'll make sure that we go out and do them. Schedules, shmedules. Well...up to a reasonable point that is!
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A hybrid tea rose named "Summer Love"
It took awhile, but I finally found some classic red roses.
Pale pink roses are my favorite. They made up my wedding bouquet.
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