A Little Bit.

Sometimes even the things that we love can hurt us. And so we are left with choices. Choices to stay, to go, to pretend all is okay, to work through things, or to give them wings and wish them happiness, but knowing we can't provide it for one reason or another.

I've had to make a lot of choices this year. Ones I never anticipated making. Ever. And none of them were easy. In fact, I would say all of them hurt to varying degrees and all of them have left scars.

Dreams were dashed, because of choices made by others and hope was rekindled at the same time.

A friend told me to hold on to every moment, because life changes rapidly. It does. Especially when you have different plans or ideas about what will happen than what comes to fruition. Sometimes happiness means just simply accepting what your life is and enjoying THOSE moments instead of looking for more. Because odds are it's the "more" that changes more frequently than anything else and breaks your heart.

Getting grounded again. Breathing on my own. Standing on my own two feet. That's where I'm at. A little bit stronger for sticking up for myself. A little bit.

6 Minutes Until 10.

As I sit staring blankly at this box that will somehow transform into a blog post, it is 6 minutes before 10pm. 6 minutes can be a long time or over in the blink of an eye. It's all about how you look at things. And what you ultimately do in those 6 minutes.

It can be something profound. You can save a life in 6 minutes. You can change your destiny. You can make a mistake. You can experience something you never even imagined existed.

What you do in 6 minutes can also be not so profound, but equally as amazing. You can laugh. You can smile. You can read a book. You can watch a movie. You can listen to a song. You can talk to a friend. You can kiss someone you love. You can listen to a thunderstorm and smell the rain. You can simply sit and breathe.

I think when we hear the world's mantra that we should make every minute count, we tend to think only about the work that needs to be done and not the rest that needs to be taken. We rush to make those minutes big, and we feel somehow guilty when they're not.

But what do we really need in those 6 minutes? I think it's more basic that money or peer recognition. In those 6 minutes what we really need is a smile, a hug, a shoulder to lean on, an encouraging voice....what we really need above all else is love and support from those who mean the most to us.

Here's hoping your six minutes were filled with all of that....and more.

xoxoxoxo to you all. Sweet dreams.

Live Like You Were Dying

My husband's oldest brother has cancer. The same cancer that his mom had and similar to what his dad had. That's pretty scary. Especially since his older brother is only in his early 40s.

It's really made me think about the moments we get. And more importantly, what we do with those moments. I firmly believe that there is a glorious heaven waiting for all of us and that our time on Earth is just a tiny fraction of our existence. But it's where we are now. So, what are we going to do with it?

I started thinking about family and friends that have passed on and what I remember and hold dear about them. Isn't funny how none of the things that made them who they were had to do with how much "stuff" they had or what kind of car they drove or what kind of house they lived in. It's the way they loved and lived. But still, we don't learn. We want bigger houses, more "stuff", a nicer car, a big fat bank account.

But what will our kids remember about us? What will they tell their children and grandchildren? Hopefully, they'll tell about the way we played with them, the times we laughed together, the traditions we started, the way we treated others with kindness and compassion, and all of those little, good, meaningful things.

So, today, let your workout be playing. Let your medicine be laughter. Let your cool down be ice cream on a warm spring night. And live like you were dying.