Dear Reader:

Yesterday morning I was watering my plants for the last time before leaving for Edisto Island…it is that time again! Ya Ya reunion! I spent last night at Rest In Peace with Brooke… so we could drive together to pick up Jackson today at the airport. Libby will not be able to join us this time but we will be communicating throughout the week! Leave no Ya behind!

That beautiful sweet scent of Confederate Jasmine always makes me smile with satisfaction… if they sold it in a bottle… I would purchase one… because the delightful scent reminds me of home, my gardens, and love!

At the beach a whole other array of scents, equally appealing, fill my being… salt air, the marshes and the lovely breezes…

Scents and smells are our greatest memory senses… a particular scent can take us back in time to a particular place… in a fraction of a second. With homes… the scent is usually one of culinary delights.

This sweet story popped up from the year 2015 from my post… and it would have been a great Mothers’ Day story… but then everyday is a good day for a mother’s story!

” The Smell of Home”

A difficult choice had to be made by one family… due to some economic setbacks… one mother and father had to make the hard decision to move to a smaller home in a new location.

The older children would have to share rooms and the cramped conditions were nothing like the beautiful spacious home they left behind. The transition wasn’t going well for the children. They wanted their old friends and schools back.

On the first day of school… after getting the tearful children settled in their classes, the mother sat down and rubbed her aching head. Her face actually hurt from the forced smile she had plastered on it. ” Life is tough” she muttered to herself.

Eventually things would settle down , as the children adjusted, but she wished she could think of an inexpensive way to do something on a tight budget.

Suddenly she had an idea! Chocolate chip cookies! It was a yummy familiar smell to the children on special days. She actually had all the ingredients but when she pulled out her fairly new mixer… a burnt smell filled the kitchen… the cord was severed!

She had no money to replace it but suddenly remembered an old hand mixer her mother used and she had kept it for sentimental reasons-she scurried to the attic and finally… there it was!

When she first turned it on…nothing happened… she was almost in tears.. but then she remembered her mother had to jiggle the cord sometimes… it worked! She squealed with excitement! ” Thanks Mom” she whispered.

When the children arrived home the smiles on their faces said it all… the youngest child cried out ” It smells just like home!” Excitedly the children talked about their new friends as they drank their milk and ate the cookies!

Everything was going to be just fine. God and grandmother would see to that… with a ” wink.”

So until tomorrow… please keep my ” Pink ” sister in breast cancer -Harriett Edwards in your prayers as she takes on cancer once again ( third appearance) this time in the brain. Prayers for her visit with the neurologist! You and God can fight this again Harriett!!! The whole team is cheering you on!!

Update on Kaitlyn and Tommy… not feeling great but not terrible… they are to talk to a doctor today. Kaitlyn shared a thought she wrote down in her journal… a powerful thought… taking on disappointment over this failed vacation.

Kaitlyn’s pen says: perfectly imperfect. Her thought: We don’t get to choose our circumstances, but we can choose our response!”

” Thatta” girl Kaitlyn!!! 💗💪

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Vickie is getting my mail and taking care of the gardens while I am gone-she even made chocolate chip cookies for me to take to the retreat! What a neighbor! What a friend!!