Happy May Day, friends!!!

I believe flowers to be one of God’s best gifts to this world.

What variety!!! What colors!!! The detail. Ruffles and layers and intricacy. Variety!

They feed our senses. Flowers bless our eyes with beauty. Sweet fragrances meet our pause-and-inhale. The gentle sway of a row of tulips breathes peace. A cut bouquet on the counter, a few buds in glass jars on the windowsill, a flowerpot on the front porch. Flowers fill our spaces with grace and sunshine and a promise of tomorrow. They shout joy and happiness. They distract us from dullness, discouragement and drabness.

I love flowers. And florals. Indoors and out. In the last couple of years, I’ve tried my hand at flower arranging and I really enjoy it. It’s a beautiful creative endeavor!

I like May Day too. Spring is my favorite season. May Day brings a happy combination of spring and flowers!

A few of my friends and I have a May Day Giftaway happening on Instagram today! We’d be delighted for you to come enter. It’s a happy combination of handmade lavender lotion and a spring bird and a sunny pail of cookies and gift certificates {Yay! Shopping!} and Lilla Rose and hand-drawn stickers and rainbows and a book {Yay! Reading!} and book sleeve! Click over here to enter.

Another creative endeavor that makes me happy? Right here. Rolling pastry and cutting flower shapes, adding blueberry filling and baking up a batch of handpies!

I made this passel of pies this week. I love it when several favorites are combined into one activity. For me the handpies are a combination of baking, pie, creativity, flowers, and photography styling. All of these are on my list of favorites!

It feels like during this pandemic, focusing on the positive, creating in some way, and counting gratitude are good distractions. It draws us away from the questions and worries and unsettledness. They provide a happy diversion. Creativity energizes us and breathes life into us. I believe we all create in some way. We all have favorites. Each of us would have a unique list.

What are some of your favorite activities?

It seemed like May Day was a fun day to share these flower-y handpies here. I hope they prove a happy distraction in your day!

Part of the inspiration to create handpies this week was to enter a competition for a pie tin on Julie Jones’ Instagram.

She creates incredibly beautiful pies and tarts and has at least two beautiful cookbooks.

Little neighbor friends left this May Day bouquet on my back doorknob this morning! It was such a delightful surprise!

I tucked lavender lotion and a small bouquet of flowers in the mailbox to wish our mail lady a Happy May Day. It’s so fun to add happy surprises to someone’s day!

My mail lady spoils Jackie {our dog} completely with Milkbone treats. Not to mention, all the packages she carries from her truck to deposit safely on my front porch.

There are so many people and workers who bless our lives in everyday-daily-ways I take for granted. When I become distracted with the hustle and bustle and demands of life, I forget to pay attention to the many rhythms and routines I am blessed by.

While I would never wish for all the havoc and hardships this pandemic has tossing in its wake, I HAVE appreciated the time to slow down. To pause and think. To assess what I want in my life. I’ve delighted in time with no plans, no pressure to make plans. Time to focus a bit better and let distraction take a big backseat.

I sit here and muse. It feels like distraction works to the negative quite often. Yet, it carries its better qualities as well. It’s easy to bump through life constantly twisting and zagging. We chase this distraction, then that one. It is so easy to let the demands of distractions take over the important. Urgency over priorities. Solicitation over significant. Rushing before considering.

Distraction wears her pretty robes when we find ourselves protecting against the negative.
Creating instead of ruminating on gnawing fears. Chasing away tears by shaking the baby rattle close to chubby cheeks. Directing attention toward the sights along the roadway and away from whining boredom.
Placing our minds on the positive. Engaging our thoughts with inspiration.

Do you find distraction more often your friend or foe? Is focus the opposite of distraction?

I hope this May Day you are able to simply delight in some of its moments. Smell the flowers. Deliver hot rolls to a neighbor. Roll out pastry. Write out some happy mail. Take a rousing walk to your favorite jazzy music.
Laugh, long and loud.

Forget the bills for a bit. Let the laundry pile wait. Whisper a prayer of gratefulness for full tummies over the 2,654,387,219th sink of dirty dishes {no exaggerating, I’m sure.} Overlook the fingerprints and waterspots. Break out a happy dance. Savor a sweet snack. Remember how loved you are by Jesus.

AND, I’d truly love to hear your thoughts about the friendedness versus the antogonistness of distraction. 🙂

Happy May Day! I hope it has flowers and handpies in it. 🙂 🙂

Linking up at Five Minute Fridays!

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