PICAYUNE — I read somewhere that one of the smoothest roads to happiness is to develop an ability to see the positive aspects of those things which, at first glance, may appear to be negatives. Boy, am I familiar with negatives. They seem to be multiplying like rabbits at my house. I can't get my bank statement to balance, the kitchen sink has developed a slow drip and the Christmas decorations still clutter the guest room. They are waiting patiently and annoyingly to be taken to the attic. Can’t anyone around here do something for themselves. To make things worse, I wandered around the garden at dawn to observe what perennials might be poking through. Some kind of thorny vine seems to have taken over the landscape. My porch lights are so dusty you can hardly tell there’s a light bulb in inside. There's this green stuff growing on the house. I think they call it mildew; I’m feeling a little green myself. In an effort to gain some kind of control, I sat down and made a list of all the spring cleaning chores that need doing. It took two pages. I was so overwhelmed, I wanted to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head. But no, I told myself, be strong. I vowed to take one chore each day and work on it at least 30 minutes. Baby steps, sure, but maybe in a couple of months the place won't look so ragged. Do we ever find a modicum of perfection in our lives? Maybe without the imperfect, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy or appreciate those perfect moments in our lives. Would we ever have a good hair day if we never had a bad hair day? (I wouldn’t know because I’m still waiting on a good hair day to show up.) Some people insist we can find beauty hidden within the imperfections of life. Think about the Mona Lisa's half-crooked smile, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the pain of giving birth which produces new life. Imperfection can be lovely. Right now I’m gazing at a fire ant bed under construction and trying to assign it some positive quality. I’m drawing a blank. I’d rather have an administrative assistant to take care of all my chores, but what purpose would our lives have if we lacked the challenge to correct those imperfections? Life would eventually get pretty boring if everything were perfect, or so they say. If we had no home improvement projects to excite us, no closets to clean out and refresh us, or no kitchens to clean up before we get them dirty again, what would we do? Simply put, imperfections add purpose to our lives. Without them, we would have nothing to reach for on our life’s journey. At least, this is the message I’m trying to ram through my own skull and its giving me a splitting headache. Today, I’ll tackle the Christmas decorations. Then again, it’s only nine months until I’ll need them again. I think I’ll just let them live in the guest room this year. I read somewhere that as machines become more and more efficient and perfect, so it will become clear that the imperfection of man is what makes him human. Then, again, the writer was talking about men, not women.
Features
- Features
-
-
southern gardening
Every spring the home gardener is bombarded with new and improved petunias for the garden and landscape, making it hard to decide which to bring home from the garden center. In my opinion, you simply can’t go wrong selecting any of the Supertunias.
-
arboretum paths
Spring is now in full swing at the Crosby Arboretum, and the show is well on its way toward a crescendo. The blooms of native purple Iris can be seen along the edge of the Piney Woods pond, pink “honeysuckle” azalea is flowering near the Pinecote Pavilion, and the yellow blooms of the pitcher plants — called “buttercups” by local residents — are beginning to carpet the south Savanna Exhibit.
-
USM set to host Children’s Book Festival
One of the most anticipated events celebrating children’s literature, the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival at The University of Southern Mississippi, will be held April 10-12 at the Thad Cochran Center on the Hattiesburg campus.
-
Amber Bounds breaks six-year-old state swimming record
The Southern MS Aquatic Club (Mantarays) participated in the Santa’s Best Swim Invitational in Biloxi Nov. 30-Dec. 2. The Mantarays finished 6th out of 22 teams competing from LA, AL, FL, and MS.
-
Capitol Pages
Jonathan Fail of Picayune, and Lorrie Warren of Poplarville recently served as pages for the Mississippi Senate.
-
Yellow jasmine brightens yards
According to the calendar, we are just a few days away from the official start of the spring season. But if you have been watching the garden and landscape like I have, you’ve seen signs of spring for at least several weeks. The plants are starting to wake up.
-
Native blooms abound at the Arboretum’s spring plant sale
The long-awaited weekend is upon us – that time which comes but once a year. Yes, it’s the Crosby Arboretum’s spring native plant sale.
-
Welcome Center celebrates arts and literature in March
The Mississippi Development Authority, Division of Tourism will be celebrating “Arts and Literature” during the month of March. Each of the Welcome Centers will be decorated differently for this celebration.
-
Lamont Rowlands house important to historical heritage
Pat Crosby first moved to the Lamont Rowlands house in 1992.
Although she found the home in disrepair, she couldn’t imagine not living there and knew that was her new home.
“It just spoke to me, and it still does,” said Crosby, the wife of the late Tommy Crosby, son of R.H. Crosby. Tommy Crosby completely renovated the home and grounds. -
Pearl River County Arts League Art Show and Sale
Pearl River County Arts League Art Show and Sale will be held on Saturday, March 23, from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. and Sunday, March 24, from noon till 4 p.m. at The Knights of Columbus Hall, 408 Carroll Drive. The show is open to all artists and admission is free to the public.
- More Features Headlines
-
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Aerials Show Path of Oklahoma Destruction
Raw: Widespread Destruction in Moore, Okla.
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Voters Could Elect LA's First Female Mayor
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
Oklahoma Gov: 'Hearts Are Broken' After Tornado
Raw: Walking in a Flattened Okla. Neighborhood
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado
