Smelling the roses...

Well, I've gone and done it now.  A good friend recently told me I should get in on this craze known as blogging, and since I value her opinion, I appreciate that she would be interested in what I might have to say, and I genuinely enjoy writing, I decided to follow her advice.  So here I am.  It's my first blog post, and much like the theory that many have about the first year of marriage being the hardest,  I find that the first post is the hardest.  I am not one to find myself at a loss for words very often, but trying to think of something worthwhile to write here has been surprisingly tough.  I choose to think, however, that as time goes by, and more blogs are added to the first, it will come easier.  I don't know who all will read the words that I write, or what I want for people to get out of it, myself included.  I suppose it will be a journey of sorts, and so there you find part of the reason for the name of my blog.   The journey of life can be exciting, crazy, frantic, stressful, and fun.  It is all of that and more.  At times its pace allows us to do little more than hang on for the ride, but one thing that can always be found, in every stage and circumstance of life, is beauty.  One thing I find beautiful is poetry, both the reading and writing of it.  It is the expression of what a person sees, feels, believes, experiences, and discovers.  It is not just "roses are red, violets are blue".  Maybe what you're going to get from this blog is a chance to see the poetry of my life, good, bad, and everything in between.  Hopefully, we can learn together to "stop and smell the roses".