It�s ridiculous, how good I smell this morning. I mean, literally, I�m distracted. Every time I lift a stack of papers, turn my head to grab the phone on my desk, I forget what I�m doing and just inhale. In, mmmmmmmm, out. Sometimes, you just get that right mixture of product, you know? Like floral meets clean-musk. Diggin� it. But enough about my olfactory senses.

Last night was wonderful. I was so ready to slip into a little funk, tired of people, fed up with everything around me, and then, as if the world was saying, �I don�t think so, Barb,� things just started happening. First, I found Jan�s translation of Ne Ma quitte pas, one of my favorite Nina Simone songs, AS I was listening to it. I shit you not, that song was PLAYING on my computer when I discovered the lyrics on her site. Lovely synchronicity. Reading the words, appreciating a favorite song with completely new eyes and understanding, I get a call from the receptionist�s desk upstairs.

Something here for me. Okay, I run up the stairs (something I now do about 3 times an hour), get to the desk, and grab the stack of paper, assuming more medical records were delivered. Before I could swish away through the door, she said, �No, that�s not yours, come back here. Here, THIS is yours,� and handed me a gorgeous bouquet of exotic looking flowers and a card. Wha�? I didn�t understand. Flowers? For ME? Unable to wait, I ripped open the card right there in the lobby. Ah, Bunny. Grinning from ear-to-ear, a beautiful card and even more beautiful flowers to tote around the office, a sure sign that someone loves me, thanks to Bunny. Everyone asked what the occasion was. My response? I have a good friend, that�s all there is to it.

Glowing with the coincidental and much needed goodness that seemed to just be flowing towards me, I got a call from my sister. Mom�s taking the baby tonight, we�re going to see Spiderman! Faye hasn�t been to a movie since well before the baby was born. So I drove down to Chula Juana (my endearing nickname) to go to the theatre with 2 of my 3 spectacular sisters. I arrived at the house, flowers in hand, for I had come straight from work.

My mother was so happy to see them, I didn�t have the heart to tell her they were a gift for me. Instead, I went to put them in a vase and said, �I do believe these will be happy here, brightening up your house for a bit.� So with the baby sleeping in her arms, and flowers on her counter, she smiled a goodbye at 3 of her 4 daughters and away we went. The movie was great. And we are such dorks. Laughing and giggling with excitement during the �cool� parts, fuck, I�m surprised we didn�t go in costume. But what a wonderful feeling it is, to be anywhere with my sisters, laughing.

And when I left to go home, shortly after the movie, we were still wiping tears of laughter from our eyes and reflecting on our fondness of each other�s little retardations. You gotta love it. Obviously, I�m not ready to be in a pissy mood yet. I�d have to be one stubbornly negative person to not just sit back and smile at the beauty of how things unfolded yesterday, like the petals of a rose. Perhaps that�s why everything smells so good to me right now.

-Barbarella

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