Hattie and Helen (Love by the Pound)

Super Girlfriends! Nov 17, 2011

New Girlfriends Oct 29, 2009

My grandma’s best friend Mrs. Wu once told me that happiness is a choice that you have to keep making over your entire lifetime. I see that in her, and as you all know I see that in my grandma. I see that in Hattie and Helen too.

Hattie and Helen have been a part of the group since its earliest, tiniest days. Hattie was there on our very first day on September 24, 2009, and soon, as she realized she liked it, asked her best friend Helen to join. Back when our attendance was small, sometimes it was just the three of us at the table.

This past Thursday, after class was over and the many other members finished hanging out and eventually dissipated, Hattie and Helen stayed behind and we just got talking about how big and full of personalities the group has become. We were all smiling so much. Basking in their radiance, I realized what a miracle it is, that these two beautiful women who happen to be optimists to the core, also happened to be two of the earliest members of our group. I realized that the positive energy of the entire group has everything to do with the positive people that they are.

This Thanksgiving, I’d like to give thanks to all the beautiful people around me who choose happiness and let me soak in a lil’ bit of what they’ve got.

Hattie Lee Ellerbe
9.22.2011   
Love by the Pound

My little 3-year-old great-great-granddaughter, Ari Anna, stepped on the scale the other day…looked up at her mother and asked, “How much do I cost?”

My answer would have been, “Priceless!!!”

Helen H. Lahr
11.10.2011
A Rose is a Rose

Some years ago members of my family & I were riding through a certain neighborhood when after seeing a lot of very lovely homes, we came upon a decrepit old house. Grass & weeds & trees surrounded it. Some of the windows were broken & the basement windows (also partly broken) were covered with debris.

Then, to my amazement I saw a beautiful rose growing up out of all that chaos. To me, it was one of the loveliest sights I had ever seen!

Afterwards, a line from a poem came to mind.

“Blossom where you are planted.” This tells us that no matter where we live or what the situation, we can attain the goals that we have set for ourselves. All we have to do is try.