Have a Daisy of a Day

Posted on by

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found daisies to be cheerful flowers. I took the picture below well over a week ago, but I kept waiting for just the right time to use it. I thought I had to have good news or experience a day where everything seemed to go my way, like in the song, “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. In that way, the daisies would seem appropriate. Well, that “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” day hasn’t come. And since we’ve experienced a ton of thunderstorms in my area lately, I was convinced that a daisy photo didn’t seem fitting; therefore, I needed to save the photo until I’d reached a “daisy-worthy” day.

001

Ever do that—save stuff for when you think you’ll find an occasion worthy enough for it? I’m reminded of my mom who only used her best plates on special occasions. But that changed after one of her closest friends died of breast cancer. Mom realized that life was too short to save the good plates for a so-called special occasion. With life as precious as it is, every day is special.

as1-tp

Not my mom’s china pattern

So, with that in mind, I decided to go ahead and run the photo. If you take a closer look at it, you’ll see a fly on the capitulum of one of the daisies. (Please don’t be impressed that I know what that is. I Googled, What is the center of a daisy called? There. That knocked me off that pedestal.) I didn’t realize the fly was there until I snapped the picture. I took another photo, thinking that the fly ruined the first photo. Yet the fly’s presence reminded me of what life is like sometimes. Instead of a daisy day, where everything seems cheerful, sometimes there’s a fly on your capitulum (or in the ointment if you were waiting for that idiom to be used). People irritate you. Your child becomes ill. Your paycheck’s late or you’re laid off. Your dog needs expensive medication. Flies in the ointment.

Maybe you’re having a day like that now, a day coated with sadness or irritation. Instead of one fly, maybe a swarm has come your way (or mosquitoes). So my wish for you to have a “daisy of a day” might seem insane. But I can still wish for that—that you would find hope and cheer despite your present circumstances.

If you’re having a daisy of a day without my having to wish for it, do someone a favor today. Don’t wait for a special occasion to celebrate that person (like a birthday or an anniversary). Do it now. Make today a daisy of a day for someone who might need it more desperately than you know.

smiley face

Have a great fourth of July!

China plate from collectable-china.co.uk. Smiley from ncv.unl.edu/woodlab.

32 thoughts on “Have a Daisy of a Day”

  1. Daisies and flies. Fitting for my life right now. Happy Fourth of July to you, too, Linda!

  3. That is one of the best deeper meaning of a picture posts I’ve ever read. Always a fly in the ointment and I do know what you mean about leaving things for rainy days. I did that with a pen and pencil set that a friend bought me. I only used it for ‘special’ projects and then I hit a few years of non-writing, so they never got used. Still not sure what I was thinking there.

    Enjoy the 4th.

    • You too, Charles!

      I have a fancy pen I won in a contest. I kept thinking I’d either give it away or use it for an amazing letter I planned to write. Ha. After two years, I haven’t written that letter. It’s time to use the pen!

  4. I have a bath bomb I got as a gift that I’ve been saving for a special occasion. I really don’t think it’s ever going to get used if I don’t just DO it.

    I have a book I’ve been meaning to start reading. Maybe climbing into the tub with that is a special enough occasion. 🙂

    • I love reading in the bathtub! And I love luxurious bath oils. I admit I keep those for a special occasion. But forget that! I’m going to use it!

      Enjoy that book in the tub!

  5. I’ve always loved daisies. From one Hallmark and Lifetime movie lover to another…”Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?” I know you’re familiar with that line, Marie! 🙂
    Have a wonderful holiday and please, don’t work too hard.

    • Happy fourth to you too, Maria! I’m sorry you’re getting that rainy weather! I heard it had moved East. 😦

  7. Like Maria, we needed a cheerful shot on the tail end of Arthur. 🙂

    I use all my good stuff all the time. My aunt hand-loomed a whole cache of linens and kept them in a drawer for more than 50 years. I got most of them when she died, and I use them every day now. They may not hold up until the end of my life, but at least they’ll be loved and enjoyed. Ditto her silver.

    • I’m so glad you’re using that linen. I’m sure it’s pretty, Andra! Is that silverware heavy? A friend of mine had the heaviest forks and knives I’d ever used. Just lifting those things made me feel like a weightlifter.

  8. I’ve always been a bit of a hoarder when it comes to saving celebratory things. It’s a good idea to just take a day and make the most of it, every once in awhile. Happy Fourth Linda!!

  9. Have a daisy of a day too Linda!
    You know how I spend 4th of July? Watching my favourite film Jaws! I may do a post about it, but if not, I think this is the perfect time to watch it. Now I can’t remember it verbatim, but it goes something like: “You shout barracuda, and everyone goes ‘what?’ You shout shark, and we’ve got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July.” Good summer film from my childhood.
    It doesn’t take much to please me. Though there could be a World Cup clash-may have to switch it a day 🙂

    • I read your post, Andy! I think it’s cool that Jaws is your favorite. I’m glad you got a chance to see it again, though it made so many people afraid to go near the water!

  11. So true, Linda! I’m going to take out my “good” china too, especially since all my other plates are chipped and broken, so I’m constantly having to wash the few remaining ones. I hope you have a Happy 4th. At least some of mine will be spent watching World Cup matches, since I’m not one to bail just because the U.S. lost. Gotta size up the competition for 2018!

    • Thanks, Alison. I need to take my own advice. I have a habit of holding on to stuff until I think the “perfect” time has arrived. Sometimes the right time is now.

      • I remember watching a segment on an old Oprah show about how women buy bubble bath and then don’t use it or only use a little bit because they are saving it for the perfect time. Oprah was like just use it and then buy some more, but don’t wait for ever. I don’t know why your post reminds me of that show. I haven’t thought about it in years.

  13. I ran into some friends the other day at a store. They were smiling and kind (like they always are). They asked about Fourth of July plans, how we were doing (my hubby got laid off 6 months ago) and were generally happy. Earlier that week they had buried a dear aunt who had passed away suddenly, were getting ready for the husband’s mother to come home (to their house) from a care facility. She is elderly and to the point where she refuses to eat and so doesn’t have a lot of time left. The wife’s elderly parents also live with them. The husband was diagnosed a year and a half ago with an aggressive lymphoma and has nearly died several times through chemo and infections. He lost his job as a result and hasn’t been able to find work since. I went home from the store and kicked myself for being such a whinerbaby. If they can laugh and smile and be like a cheerful daisy in the midst of all their trials, the least I can do is stop whining in mine.

Comments are closed.