Tuesday, November 14, 2006

We Might as Well Dance

A friend of mine who has MS sent me this email. I decided to share this with all my blogger friends and hope it makes you take a good look at what's important. It reminded me of the friends and family that I am so grateful for and all the possibilities that are open to us.
*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 goingto 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 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? Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you. 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. *It's National Friendship and FAMILY WEEK Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.To those I have sent this to... I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do. "Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!"

5 comments:

  1. Boy, this post makes me wish I was rich and didn't have to go to school and do homework. Unfortunately, I "should" do homework tonight. If I die tomorrow, I won't be happy that I spent my last night doing homework, but if I don't die tomorrow, I won't be happy that I'm not prepared for my test. Oh the dilema!!

    Of course, I think this is very accurate. Have you ever heard someone say, "We only use the good china on special occasions." Okay, me neither because no one I know has good china, but the point is the same.

    I will be happy if I died tomorrow because I blew off my homework this weekend to spend some time with your daughter and some time with my sister and her family. So, I guess I will do my homework tonight; besides the alternative is watching TV and that's not going to make me happy if I died tomorrow either.

    Wow, that was a long response!

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  2. Score 1 point for me quitting my job and becoming a beach bum.

    ...great advice. Seize the day!

    Psssst... Julie: Painting pottery this weekend?

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  3. Alyson, I have good china that has never been out of the box. Isn't that insane?

    Cardine, I want to quit my job too and travel all over. But who's going to finance this??? But I'm pretyy good at ignoring things I should do and reading, blogging and watching TV instead. Rats, ten minutes to Gray's Anatomy. Gotta go.

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  4. Framed, maybe we should pull your china out this weekend. I remember as a child always wanting to use my parents crystal. We would make a "fancy" meal (probably lasagne) and drink our grape juice out of wine glasses; it was so much fun. Come to think of it, my mom also has nice plates that I guess might be considered china. We used those for our "fancy" meals as well. So I do know people with china!!

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  5. I like your blog! I couldn't agree more about living life to the fullest and not waiting to use special china and glass ware for some special event. Everyday is a very special gift to be cherished and reveled in. I volunteer at a nursing home and can plainly see how fast life vanishes. Unlike the modern American frenzy, take time for relationships, conversation, creativity, love and dancing! Your blog is so pretty- how do you design it so nicely?
    www.AmericanMavenLady.blogspot.com

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