Make it count

Happy Monday,

How is everyone doing on this fine Monday afternoon? Did you enjoy your weekend? Mine was full of excitement, love, and making memories with family and friends. It was my birthday weekend and I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.

I was beyond blessed to have my birthday celebrations begin a week prior to my actual birthday. My friends gave me a wonderful birthday party last Saturday, then Wednesday my dear friend Susan did a little mini birthday party at our sit and sew. Thursday I got to spend time swimming and floating around with my friend Leslie. Friday I was able to enjoy sushi with my sons and Saturday John took me to the bay, we walked around, watched the RC sailboats, had a light lunch, then enjoyed a family bbque birthday dinner with John’s family and we wrapped up my birthday on Sunday. We enjoyed a birthday brunch with our dear friends Art and Laura and today, I am home, writing and enjoying cooking and quiet time.

I am so beyond humbled by the amount of love I have received over this past week. I am speechless. I don’t think I have the words to express my gratitude for my friends and family and how each and everyone of you made this birthday so beyond special. Thank you to everyone who wished me happy birthday and who made it special. I’ll carry the memory within my heart forever.

Birthday’s are something new to me. For the first 49 years of my life, I didn’t celebrate them and over the last five years being able to not only accept birthday wishes, but give them, it’s opened an entire new world to me. I have grown to appreciate how special a birthday can be. I’ve always held my sons birthday’s close to my heart. Those are special days to me and they’re even more special now that I can wish them a happy birthday.

Now that I celebrate birthday’s, I now see what makes them so special. For me, a birthday is a day to not only celebrate someone, or be celebrated, but it’s also a day to give thanks for the person’s life, even my own. When we wish someone a happy birthday and celebrate them, we’re expressing how much their life means to us. Everyone of us is born and we become a part of someone’s life. If we weren’t brought into this world on our birthday, we’d miss out on so much and others would miss out on us.

Happy birthday to me isn’t just, hey, you’ve turned another year older, though that is awesome. It’s more than that. It’s happy birthday, I’m so grateful to have you in my life and I’m so grateful you were born.

Life is short and as I’ve embarked on my mid 50’s, I’m on the downhill ride to the other side. I’m closer to the end than I am to the beginning of my life, and I’m not only aware of that, but I’m okay with it. I can tell you this, I don’t plan on wasting the next 30-40 years. I don’t plan on wasting any time. I will give it my all not to miss any opportunity that comes my way. There’s a lot of life to live and I want to enjoy the journey, after all, I know the final destination means leaving this world and those I love behind. That’s life.

“Every minute someone leaves this world behind. We are all in ‘the line’ without knowing it. We never know how many people are before us. We can not move to the back of the line. We can not step out of line. We can not avoid the line. So while we wait in line-make moments count. Make priorities. Make Time. Make your gifts known. Make a nobody feel like somebody. Make your voice heard. Make the small things big. Make someone smile. Make the change. Make love. Make up. Make peace. Make sure to tell your people they are loved. Make sure to have no regrets. Make sure you are ready.”-unknown.

One thing I never got to do. I never got to celebrate my dad’s birthday with him. I only celebrated one of my birthday’s with him, but I never celebrated his. Oh, I wished him a happy birthday, but I never was able to make it to Oklahoma on his birthday. Time ran out for us. He passed just 4 years after I found him. I think that’s a regret I’ll always have. I can’t change that, but moving forward, I can make sure to celebrate everyone I love’s birthday in one way or another.

Moment’s come an go, almost in the blink of an eye. Time is not on our side, maybe because we spend so much time on trivial things. Makes me wonder, how much time do I waste everyday on unimportant things. I’m coming to appreciate more and more, stuff in my life is most of the time, clutter. The best memories I have are the little moments I spend with those I love. It’s those 2 hour phone calls with a bestie who is laid up. It’s an overcast afternoon just floating in the pool sharing feelings about life and reflecting on treasured moments over the years. It’s dressing up in cowboy hats and boots with close friends, it’s a salad and chocolate tart with friend, or homemade tacos and some margaritas, sitting around the table just enjoying some laughs and it’s family coming together, making some of the best steaks and potatoes ever. It’s sitting across from your grown sons, eating sushi and listening to them communicate with each other as brothers and best friends, knowing you did something right in this life. It’s in the moments you fall asleep in the arms of the man you love. Stuff can be replaced, but the time and moments spent with our loved ones, can’t.

Moments are meant to be captured. They’re meant to remind us of what’s important. I’ve had money, and I’ve lost it all, but one thing that stands forever are those in my life who choose to have me in theirs. “In a moment, you can be here, there anywhere. In a moment, you can be too busy to notice the moment. In a moment, your whole life can change. In a moment, what you took for granted is no longer there. In a moment, you can have an AHA. In a moment, you can decide to live in the moment. In a moment you can see how exquisite everything is right now. It’s all in the moment…….. THIS MOMENT!!”-unknown..

What will you do with your moments? Whatever you decide, I hope only that you find it to be moments filled with love and I hope you make a memory or two along the way. Moments come and go. Captured as much as you can out of them. Time is not promised and we are all in line to cross over from this life to the next. Let’s make every moment count and while we’re doing that, please don’t forget, love life++