Stop and Smell the Roses

I find it unusually gratifying to relate my life to Calvin and Hobbes strips.  Maybe it reminds me of grandparents house, tucked away in the front bedroom, all of the Calvin and Hobbes books you can imagine.  Granted, they were crinkled with water and have a certain....aura about them, and you just know some of the boy cousins filched them for bathroom reading.  Regardless, Calvin and Hobbes are one of those timeless characters, similar to Anne Shirley and Kathleen Kelly.  Throw any one of these characters into my daily routine and I have a certain hope for the world.  

I've had a lazy summer, lazier than I've been probably ever in my life.  And I couldn't help but think about this little gem: 

Kidding aside, it's definitely making me think.  Any other time in my life, I have been so much like Calvin.  I didn't have time to smell the roses, I had things to do.  Smelling the roses seemed mundane and unnecessary and so frivolous.  

Yet, here I am, stopping and smelling the roses all day long.  

And it's...interesting.  Interesting because I used to define my worth by what I did.  You think you have a busy schedule?  Listen to mine.  What am I up to?  Let me tell you, [rattle off whatever successful sounding thing I just accomplished].  Sorry, I don't have time, I'm busy doing important things.  

Oh yes, I've had many people tell me to slow down.  Enjoy life. Take it easy.  I need to have some fun, loosen up, let my hair down.  

I hope I remember this summer, this summer where I didn't even have a T.V. show that was about to start as a time when I relished in being purposeful about relaxing.  As a time when I can take a step back and breathe deeply, regardless of how many things I did or didn't accomplish.  People make a relaxing summer sound easy, but it's not all lemonade on the veranda.  It's hot outside (unbearably hot) and the afternoons are long.  

But it's ok, because the roses truly are beautiful.  

xo. Elise