Recycled Bouquet

Recycled Bouquet
By John R. Greenwood

By the time a husband and wife have been together for three quarters of their lives they will have accumulated a trunk full of memories. They will also be in tune with each others likes and dislikes. I like most husbands learn slowly, but after 38 years exchanging anniversary cards, the odds of me getting it right are increasing--ever so slightly. Today we finished taking down the Christmas decorations inside and out. It involves packing up totes full of ceramic Santa's, stuffed snowmen, colorful wreaths, and tangled lights. I experienced my first workout of 2013 by running up and down the attic stairs like an NFL running back doing preseason drills up to the cheap seats and back. By the time the dust had settled and the needles were vacuumed away we were both ready for a break. Mrs. G. poured a cup of coffee and nestled down with her laptop. I headed out to Orange and Ugly for supplies to begin our next DIY project. I also grabbed the fall collection of empty soda cans and water bottles to turn in. I took them to Price Dropper because it is in close proximity to Orange and Ugly. After doing the bottle-can machine shuffle I grabbed my receipts and went inside. Fortunately I had a blank grocery list so I went directly to the Floral Department just inside the door. I picked out the sunniest bouquet in sight and laid it down on the counter. I was pleased to find out they could cash out my bottle return receipts as part of the transaction.  The cashier did a head-snapping double-take when the well behaved register proclaimed it OWED ME .49 cents. Well it might not be a blog worthy story but it did make my day. It also made my wife smile when I recounted the tale of the recycled bouquet. And so it goes in this simple life of give and take. 

Man Football Gold

As I sit here typing away and intermittently gazing up at the AFC Wildcard game I catch the distinct aroma of fresh made Chex Mix drifting from the warm glow of the oven. 

This life is not about expensive cars in the driveway or summer homes on the lake. It is about bouquets of fresh flowers and warm Chex Mix.