Cardinal Surprise!

 Millennia, special for me.  Ok, maybe not the mall itself, but a trip to the windows at Anthropologie are always a special treat for me.

I love the creative windows, but I love the designer more.

Roger tried to take me out to Millennia once a month to see if the windows had changed. Sometimes it grew to once a quarter.

It helped that there was a Cheesecake Factory and a Brio just steps away.
I always tried to see that he got to eat before I got to browse. Ah - just like a baby, it kept him quite content - and patient!  Thank goodness he loved the seating and the atmosphere at this particular mall.  And he would make trips to the car with lots of bags and boxes, when needed.
And he let me enjoy that creative place called Anthropologies for as long as I liked.

I loved it when Karin took me to the mall this year, braving all of that traffic. She is so like her daddy, even with the certain self imposed boundaries.  Stuff had to not overflow the bag and there would be no intermediate trips to the car and back.

But she carried the bag! She waited patiently, too!


I wonder if I fed her?  I did teach her the 'back way' so she could navigate without the horrible traffic!  Roger always knew the back ways to everything!

Roger's Lesson:  Navigating the traffic to get to the mall is just a part of what you do at Christmas. He would tell the girls not to forget to give mama her creative breaks - because it keeps her calm.  And calm makes for a more merry Christmas - and this is good! When Jacob can drive, he can take over, but must remember to tote the packages. It's what you do for the ladies. 

Roger was all about seeing a need and assisting where he could. I hope that I never took that for granted. I was a pretty fortunate girl.

I was blessed too, because he took me to see my favorite windows. It is no random thing that these windows are my favorites, and the only ones I make the trip to see.

When there is someone special in your life, you want to keep up, and even in small ways, encourage.

I think that it is no accident that God knew that there was one young girl, one very special talent, one very creative store, and some very empty windows that needed a very special message.   Those red cardinals just made me forget all of the craziness of getting to the mall.  Those red cardinals made me think - Roger is not all that far away. His memory is still strong as is our bond.  It transcends time and space and it will last for all of eternity.

You didn't even know it, but thank you for a very special Christmas gift, Liz!