Flowers and Teenagers.

See those gorgeous babies?  I bought a cluster for $5.99 at Albertson's yesterday.  Money CAN buy happiness, my friends.  

If I could finagle it in the budget I would have fresh flowers gracing my home year-round.  I saw an Oprah once (hah, like ten years ago) where she said she would NEVER have fake flowers in her home.  Never.

The sad truth: I'm guilty of  fake-flower ownership.  Hydrangeas and willow buds.  This, however, is not my first decorating faux pas nor will it be my last.  Of that I am sure.

I'm feeling a little emotional these days and the only conclusion I can draw is that I've binge read too many Sarah Dessen novels lately.  Hence, too many personal flashbacks of emotional teenagedom.  As necessary as it is navigating through the ages of 12-18, I'm glad to be 32.

I wouldn't trade what I learned as a teenager.  That's when I chose my path.  In my case, the choice boiled down to: did I want to be good or did I want to be cool?  Luckily, thanks to a little trial and error and some amazing mentors, I chose the good.  No regrets here.  And I've since learned that you can, in fact be good AND cool.  But cool, in those days, was more along the lines of drinking, partying, sneaking out, MAKING out, which I never actually acted upon (although I always wondered what it would be like to sneak out.  I scared myself that I'd get murdered or kidnapped and no one would ever know what happened to me.  So I stayed in bed).

One great thing about being a teenager though: first loves, having a crush, hoping he liked you back, finding out (through a friend of a friend of a friend) that he does...and the ensuing little notes full of misspelled words and way too many exclamation points!!!!!!  I loved those days.