One Good Thing...

I was in a quandary; what do you get your 101 year old grandmother for her birthday? She has everything she needs and more than she wants. I thought about 100 stems of flowers, but in November, even carnations cost a small fortune and she gets tons of flowers. She once told me it was like a funeral home with all the bouquets and arrangements she received. Even though she protested she didn't want anything, I couldn't let her birthday pass without something.

In the end, I gave her nothing--but wishes and hopes and dreams.

It's a decorative mason jar filled with wishes like, "A bowl of your favorite ice cream." Here are some others:

*The smell of fresh cut grass
*Knowing how much you're loved
*A great book to thrill you
*A day without annoying phone calls
*A happy day
*Hope for the world
*Quiet time with God
*A spectacular sunset
*Remembering where you left your keys
*A visit with the new baby ducks
*An emergency bottle of wine in the cabinet

Some were very personal to her:
*A Republican president
*A decadent birthday cake
*Eating dinner in your jammies
*Osama Bin Laden's obituary
*The smell of snow

Once I got started, it wasn't hard to come up with 101. I could have gone on for 200 or more. Sadly, my grandmother passed on--at 105--and she saw almost all these wishes come true. I have her jar sitting in my office and when I browse through the wishes, it makes me smile and feel like she's dropping in for a visit.

And it's inspired me, as the New Year approaches, to create not a wishing jar, because we're all always wishing for something, but a "Blessing Jar." This is not my idea, I heard of it from somewhere and I wish I could give them proper credit but I can't remember who to thank! I'm taking a plain mason jar (which held pickles (and still smells like them- gotta remember to leave it open to air out) and whenever I can, I'm going to put in a slip of paper of something good that I've been blessed with. The first good thing for 2013 is that I'm alive to see it rung in, and to have the opportunity to accomplish and be and learn and give so much more than 2012.

Wishing you all many blessings, opportunities, hopes and dreams,

Char