Have you danced today? Are we so wrapped up in prepping that we forget or don’t have time to stop and smell the flowers? A good friend sent this to me this morning and I thought I’d pass it on as I have had AF on the top of my list for months and realized that I have not danced at all during that time… Maybe someone else will find something worthwhile in it also.
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 people 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 even 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 / Sarah 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 list 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?
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 really 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 was just dancing with my 8 week old grandson, who is fast asleep. My dancing must not have been too impressive, as his only response was to…well…pass gas…DH and I shared a good laugh over that.
Seems my singing has the same effect. I’m typing w/1 finger as he sleeps soundly on my shoulder.
Life at this moment is great!!!!
Life is not about surviving - but living - really living. :)
Plan for the future but enjoy the “here and now” too.
Grace RN - I understand as I had the pleasure of babysitting my grandkids yesterday and it just made my whole day brighter. I have also come to the conclusion that grandchildren are Gods gift for not killing your own kids when they were growing up. How else can one explain so much love is such a small package?
BTW – the ‘passing gas’ is a guy thing, seems like your grandson is on the right track.
Grace and Thom, I’m a wee bit envious, but just made reservations to go see my two little ones in a month. A special treat given to me by a friend, an airline ticket she couldn’t use and it has a use by date. Now to get the Christmas presents done by then.. Gotta go get sewing.
Thom – at 10:53 “Have you danced today? “
I had not danced before- but we got an exchange student that loves ballroom dancing (contests and stuff). So I am learning some ballroom dancing - and at my age (undisclosed). She made me watch “Shall we Dance” - fun movie.
I come from the other side of this issue. I’m doing exactly what I want with my life and to think BF could come and change everything is a terrible thought. Decisions I’ve made have led me to be where I want to be. Perfect life, no but I am not hurried, I don’t have bad stress, I’m as active as I want to be and healthy & fit. My home is my sanctuary with the partner I want to be with forever. That’s why I guess the thought of people showing up on my doorstep again is a terrible thought. I say appreciate what you have right now. Always wanting something more or something different voids you have having contentment and peace of mind. I sometimes wonder why we as a species always want more.
A college instructor of mine once said (pertaining to choosing a career), “Do what you like to do. You can always make more money, but you can never make more time.”