STORYTIME TAPESTRY

Special Treat - An Anniversary Special

March 12, 2005

Today is the anniversary of Kay and Roy Seefeldt, this story was written in dedication of their wonderful 28 years together.

Happy Anniversary guys, and many many more.

Am I Lucky Or What?
Kay Seefeldt

On checking my morning e-mails and postings, I came across this
charming quote: "Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out
looking for four-leaf clovers." (Anon.) I forwarded the quote to an
e-mail friend - we??™d met through my having a story published in an
online e-zine - and told her that the man shouldn??™t have to hunt for
them. He should be lucky enough to just find them. Our online
friendship was a stroke of ???luck.??? We have been corresponding regularly
since... sharing quotes, female wisdom, and snippets of our lives.

Since childhood, I have had this special ???gift??? of finding four leaf
clovers wherever they may be lurking. One sweet, summer vacation day
several of my childhood friends and I were playing in a daisy filled
field when I discovered a four leaf clover...and then another and
another. The hunt was on. Before long I??™d bagged several four leaf
clovers and a five leaf clover! While my friends had found none.
Shortly, I found a six leaf, then to my surprise and delight, a seven,
an eight, and a nine. Many years later upon opening my childhood
Bible, dozens of dried, brittle memories of that day fell out bringing
a smile to my face. I??™d forgotten putting the clovers there for safe
keeping.

After marrying Roy, my second husband (another stroke of ???luck???) and
moving to the house we live in now, he was working on his motorcycle in
the front yard. When I took him out a glass of iced tea, I discovered
he and the bike were practically rolling in a bed of four leaf clovers.
Up to this point, Roy had never found a four leaf clover. Here was a
prefect chance. How could he miss? Four leaf clovers were popping up
everywhere. All he had to do was reach down and pick a clover, any
clover. But try as he might, he couldn??™t see even one. Finally, I
pointed my toe at the biggest one in the lot. At last, now he could say
he??™d at least picked one.

Another time while Roy and I were ???flying??? along the break down lane of
Route 2 on our ten speed bikes, I squealed, ???Hey, there??™s a four leaf
clover!??? He had the audacity to questioned my ability to recognize a
four leaf clover while riding a bike. ???As if you can see a four leaf
clover doing forty miles an hour!??? ???Oh yeah, well let??™s turn around
right now,??? I demanded and pedaled back to where I??™d seen the clover.
Standing there triumphantly, I crowed, ???Here it just like I said. Come
see!??? Looking down to where I held it between my fingers, Roy
relented, ???That??™s unbelievable!??? He never questioned my unique talent
after that.

Last year, I spied a four leaf clover by the walkway as we carried
groceries into the house. ???Clover alert!??? I chirped and pointed in the
general vicinity of where it was nestled among a host of threes. After
staring at the ground for what seemed like an eternity, Roy finally
???found??? the four leaf clover.

I am still hoping for the day when I can claim finding a ten leaf
clover and Roy will find a four leaf all on his own without the
assistance of the ???lucky eye??? he married.

Do I believe in luck or coincidence? No way! Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of
lights...(James 1 :17) He puts the opportunity out there for us. It is
up to the ???lucky one??? to take advantage of this seeming serendipity.

?© Kay Seefeldt 3/12/05
birdnest @ megalink.net


Kay, a 26 year veteran middle school teacher, has contributed several
stories to Petwarmers, Gardenwarmers, 2theHeart, and Storytime
Tapestry: ???The Artificial Limb,??? ???F.R.O.G.,??? ???Tiny Troubles,??? "The
Christmas Exchange," ???Birthday Surprises,??? and ???Harbinger of Hope.???
Kay and her husband Roy live in Maine and share their home with six
???lucky??? and very spoiled feathered kids (fids). Kay paints landscapes
and abstracts in watercolor and considers herself an experimental
artist as well playing with new paints, papers and delving into
encaustic painting using an iron for a paint brush. She also teaches
adults the basic techniques of watercolor and believes anyone can learn
watercolor who has the desire. She wants her students, not to strive
for perfection, but celebrate the ???happy accidents.??? Kay feels she is
truly blessed by God and hopes she doesn??™t take even the smallest
blessing for granted.