It’s natural to wonder sometimes about the road not taken – what if I’d done this, what if I hadn’t done that, where would my life be right now? Today was one of those days for me. It started off with my morning pages where a small thing got me thinking about where I could be right now compared to where I actually am. And then I moved on to a writing exercise that included making a list of 50 things in my life that I am proud of.
I ended up in a wonderful place with a feeling of immense gratitude for my life: warts, bumps, dead-ends, wrong turns, and all. I am married to The Best Man and together we’re building a great life, making up for lost time, and dancing in the sunlight.
It’s a great exercise and I encourage you to do it. Right now. Write down 50 things that you’ve done that you’re proud of. If you’re like me, partway through you may think you’ll never get there and that you haven’t done enough with your life. But by the end, everything will be looking pretty good. Enjoy!
So we’re at this restaurant celebrating her birthday and they bring the cake. She looks at it and says there was a mistake – she’s got someone else’s cake. Really? Oh, yes. It says “Bert Wilson” right here. They gave me Bert Wilson’s cake! We have to get it back to him!
Believe it or not, no alcohol was involved. But there was a lot of laughter when she realized that the cake actually said Best Wishes. We all laughed about that one for years.
Truth be told, there was always a lot of laughter when she was around. Her friendship and humor were a lifeline for me in tense times and she saved my marriage more times than I can count. Even when she was quite ill and being rushed to the hospital, she told the nurses, “I can’t die. I have tickets to CATS!”
Her family lost their sunniest member on the longest day of the year and the first day of summer is always a bit bittersweet. But now, more then 20 years later, it is that light that remains, bright and lasting like the summer solstice. What a legacy to be remembered for bringing that much light, life, and laughter to the lives of others.
“Too many people grow up. That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget. They don’t remember what it’s like to be 12 years old. They patronize, they treat children as inferiors. Well, I won’t do that.” – Walt Disney It was summer, I was twelve, and we were going to [...]
Judgement Day was on my mind yesterday. No, I wasn’t expecting to be raptured. I am not religious in any traditional sense and my views are more in line with my cousin Sarah’s, “God is bigger than all of the religions put together.” But my heart was with my Christian friends. I can hear some [...]
