nice surprises

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Yesterday evening, my daughter walked through the front door bearing a rose...a single, red beauty.

And where had she gotten it?

A local florist with a billboard out front posts a single first name on a weekly basis. People with that first name -- and proof of identity -- get a free flower. And yesterday, my daughter's name was on the billboard: "Olivia."

A small matter, perhaps, and yet a surprise out of no where. How fun is that?!

Later in the evening, I was reading a homework assignment my older son had written -- a two-and-a-half-page piece on personal, ethical dilemma. The piece nailed the topic to the wall -- outlining an ethical situation he had once faced in middle school...a situation both uniquely personal and utterly universal. As I said to him, "That's an A by content and perhaps a B to B-minus for presentation."

It was the content that made my heart soar.

It was as if life had presented me with a single, beautiful rose.
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