We've all heard the expression, "Life changes at the drop of a dime." And we all think we know what that means but the thing about expressions is that you never fully understand them until they apply to you. Until you have that moment that you go, "Hunh! So that's what that's all about."
For me that moment was a little over a year ago. That was when I realized I wasn't going to be around forever, I didn't have all the time in the world, and I had better get started living my life instead of waiting until I could afford that trip I wanted to take or until I met a great guy, or until I had the perfect story all written in my head before I ever set paper to pencil to write it.
I started to examine and question my life in December 2009. I know it might seem an odd time of year to start questioning life, but January 1st is a time of renewal and resolutions so to me it seemed as good a time as any.
Two things happened in December 2009, first my grandmother passed away after a very short illness and a week later my father had emergency surgery. (He's fine now.) Had these events happened separately, there probably wouldn't have been any effect.
My Grandmother was always someone I could talk to about anything, especially when I was a teenager and I thought my parents wouldn't understand. She was always cool no matter what I told her or asked her about. And she, of course, had some outrageous stories from her youth and questions of her own.
My parents are the people I still turn to for guidance, even after all these years. A car repair, money questions or problems, career advice, all things that were discussed around the table or over the phone. Then, of course, there is dad's unfailing way of giving his two cents worth (and a lecture to go with it) even when no one asked for it. These were the things I had come to rely on in my 35 years.
That cold December day, sitting in the waiting room, waiting for news of my dad's surgery, I had a lot of time for thinking about how short life really is. I realized I had been living in the past for far too long, dwelling on the failures in my life instead of enjoying the successes.
That was the day I decided life is too short to worry about what I can't change and to put off until the right time all the things I wanted to accomplish in life. That life lesson was a long time coming, but now that I have learned it, I am embracing life. I am compiling my list of goals, a bucket list if you will. That is what this blog is about. For me it is a motivation to find ways of accomplish the things I have always wanted to but was either too afraid, too busy or not financially sound enough to do.
The beginning of my list will be included in my next installment of this blog. My hope is that my friends, relatives and even strangers who stumble on this blog will be inspired to start their own bucket list and start crossing things off. Believe me there is an immense sense of happiness and fulfillment when you do finally cross something off!
Til next time....read it, follow it, comment on it, forward it, LOVE IT...and come back for more!
