How Did This Happen To Me?

I can remember so clearly... on my visits to my grandma, on my dad's side. She lived up the street from my home and I always enjoyed visitng her and spending time at their home. Often during those visits, she would pull out her photo albums and she would want to show me all of her latest creations. For some reason that I totally could NOT understand, she would take pictures of flowers...individual flowers, flower beds and huge gardens that she and my grandpa had visited. We would sit together and flip through all of the black photo book pages, each photo secured with black photo corners. I can remember exactly what I was thinking as we sat there going through the books...why would anyone take pictures of flowers? Wouldn't it be so much more interesting to take of people and events?





Fast forward the pages of time some 40 years later, and here I am in her same situation. It seems to me that the flowers this summer are more vibrant and plentiful than I ever remember, and I can hardly go through a garden or visit my friend's homes without carrying my camera with me to capture their beauty. The picture above is of my sister-in-law's flower boxes on the front porch of their home. The white wooden boxes are overflowing with colorful blooms.




Not only do I want to capture the exquisite beauty of the flowers myself, but I have my uncle doing the same for me, in his travels. He has come to realize what joy this brings to me.

How did this transformation happen...going from the young girl sitting by her grandma's side, looking at picture after picture of flowers, while inwardly rolling the eyes, and wondering the "whys" of this type of behavior...

...to the middle age lady who carries her camera with her just in case she comes upon another gorgeous flower garden? Most every single time I capture flowers with my camera, I find myself thinking of this dear grandma. Actually, both of my grandmas did much to instill a love of flowers and their unique beauty. The above photo was taken at my other sister-in-law's home, when I discovered her amazing hydrangea bushes...some of every color and hue, and each one of them filled with blooms.




Here are some outstanding flower photos captured by my uncle on his recent beach trip.

Driving to the grocery store a week ago, I found myself stopping to take a picture of this overflowing bush of gorgeous white hydrangeas along the road...sorry to admit this, but it is true.

Yes, I know there are things that I will do over the years that will cause my own grandchildren to inwardly or perhaps even outwardly roll their eyes, but now I know that it is okay that they do it. I know that "what goes around, comes around", and someday they may just be doing the exact same thing themselves. I know my grandma would be thrilled to sit at my computer and look at all of my fascinating flower pictures. She would probably just smile to herself...like I will someday do.

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting- a wayside sacrement. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower and thank God for it as a cup of blessing." ~Ralph Waldo Imerson

"The cups of blessing" this summer are abundant and I am so thankful!