I had to leave for work at 6:45 this morning for a meeting in Davenport. Heading down the interstate into a beautiful sunrise, reminded me of time spent in Chicago at the end of summer with Jenn and Amy. They had a list of to-do's written down for the week, and one was to get up before the sun rose, buy coffee at the Starbuck's on the corner and walk to the shore. Jenn, my "hunter of moments" was ready with her camera. And an early morning jogger captured them in a very special moment. (see below)
The entire week felt bitter-sweet. Soon Jenn would be living there going to college, and Amy would be back at Solon High. And, me? Well - everyday was a constant reminder of how short life is. Was she really leaving the nest already? The reality of moments like these bring home to me how important it is to 'live in this moment' and use all of my days with purpose.
"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your (mind and) heart and with your entire being and with all your might." Deut. 6:5
I don't often open, let alone read, very many of the forwards that come to me via email. But here's one that was a 'read & keeper'....
enjoy life today!
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it
was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about a
ll those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word refrigeration" mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gasp and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." ...She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet-trained.
We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet.
We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older.
The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer.
One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on", and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas.
was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about a
ll those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word refrigeration" mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gasp and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." ...She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet-trained.
We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet.
We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older.
The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer.
One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on", and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas.
Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker.
If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list.
If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?
Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I am sharing this with you.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker.
If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list.
If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?
Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I am sharing this with you.
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?
Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow." And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi"?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away...
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?
Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow." And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi"?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away...
Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.
May you be found in His embrace today,
Sharon
1 comment:
very sensitive post. i enjoyed it really. and felt sorrow as well. but it was good to think about my own life. than you Sharon
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