This is an email I received from my great friend Amy and was so touched by this that I automatically printed it and posted it in my cube at work:) As we get older we are reminded of the fact that life is a precious gift that can be taken away at any moment and often times too soon. The future is uncertain but what is certain is that you are in control of your own happiness and have the ability to live each day to the fullest! Always enjoy the moments of your day and never pass an opportunity to do something that will make you smile! Reconnect with old friends, forgive people who have troubled you in the past and love your family, spouses and friends for this is what life is all about. Your relationships and experiences in life are far more important than work, stress, and material objects. Please dont lose sight of what is important in your life and from there ensure that you get your priorities straight. Im committed to my husband, family and friends and this will forever be my greatest accomplishments in life.
"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 all 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 gas up 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 Steve 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 Roller blades 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?
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.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.
"Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!"
I made this last night for dinner and was quite impressed with myself when Ryan said it was one of his favorite salads he's ever had! Hearing Ryan say salad and favorite in the same sentence was a feat in itself! The fact that I didn't even follow a recipe and it took less than 5 minutes to make made me smile and I will definetly be making this on a regular basis. We had some avocados, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella from a local Italian market in our fridge and I decided to combine these ingredients together for a light healthy salad. I chopped everything up and combined it with some basil, drizzle of olive oil, vinegar and seasoned with some seasalt and cracked pepper! It was so delicious, nutritious and easy! YUMMY!
