Lord...I thank you for the Bacardi!

Today was one of those days! I don't even really know where to start, other than...I woke up!

The one good thing today was that I've finally noticed
that the orchid that Mike bought me for Valentine's Day, after losing all flowers a few months ago, has grown a new stalk and producing 10 promising buds, has two blooms right now.

Do you want to know what the secret is? Ignore it! It's as simple as that. Ignore the orchid. Water it every few weeks, but not with a watering can or dowsing it with water in the sink...put two or three ice cubes on top of the soil (or whatever matter is in the pot) and let them melt. Orchids do NOT like to be inundated with water, so this allows them to soak up the water slowly. I've found that the less you care about them, the better they do. Even though they are delicate plants, they thrive when you just let them do their own thing. I'm so happy to see that the plant that used to look like this...

...now has a whole new crop of buds that are ready to burst forth with life.

I need this right now. I'm currently struggling with a decision that I need to make. Do I want to continue on with my life as is (and I'm VERY happy with my life as is), or do I want to continue going to school even though I'm not 100% happy with it? Mike keeps telling me that I need to do what feels right to me. And my GREAT friend "Dughi-face" told me "life is too short." Which I interpret as, life is too short to be unhappy with what you are doing. I'm at this point where I know I should finish my BA, not because it's going to further me in life, but it will be a piece of paper to have that shows I did it. On the other hand, I love my life right now. I'm happy with my home, my dogs, my husband and the volunteer work I do. I'm content with all of this and I don't want to give any part of that up. So the question is, do I do what society thinks I should do and finish my degree? Or do I continue on the path with which I'm most content and know that no matter what life throws my way I can handle anything because of the life experience I have not the book/school smarts.

When I first moved to Boston back in 2002, I dated a guy who taught me one very important thing, and it's something that I've carried with me to this day. I asked him if he was happy with his life and his response stopped me in my tracks and really made me think. He said, "I don't want to be happy. I strive to be content in my life. If I'm content, it means that I fully accept and welcome the entire range of emotions and feelings into my life. I want to be happy, sad, mad, frustrated, depressed, overjoyed. I want to feel it all. And yes, I'm content with my life." So if  you were to ask me right now, "Brian, are you content with your life?" My answer would be..."YES."

I love my life, I love my husband, I love my home, my dogs, the work that I'm doing. I don't want it to change. I feel like I have too much good to let something get in the way of that. So...dear readers...what are your thoughts? I know my mother thinks that I should go to school and finish my degree that way I can do something for myself. (I call bullshit on that argument.) With or without some piece of paper stating I have a bachelor's degree, I can find a job, and show my strengths. So my other question is...why then should I put forth the effort for this piece of paper when I don't feel I need it?

Until someone comes up with a good answer to these questions, I'm going to crack open another can of coke and pour me a nice, stiff Bacardi and coke.

Cheers, y'all!