Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Seize the Day! Remembering Gracie

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. ~Abraham Lincoln  
Over the course of the last several days I have been reminded once again of a very important lesson that I began to really understand over 2 years ago and that is the lesson of living each day to the fullest. My sister and her husband just had to put their precious Golden Retriever, Gracie, down late last night. The dog was not yet two years old, but in her brief time with them she had lived large! She was so well taken care of and went everywhere with them and touched many,many people's lives and hearts. She was gentle and sweet and intuitive.  
One of my lessons from this loss for our family is to remember to love deeply and live each day completely. Also, to do the things you dream of doing today or begin to make a plan to do them right now. I heard a story about a man who was dying from cancer and he scheduled a trip that his family had always wanted to do, to swim with the dolphins,only after realizing he was going to die. The host of the show that interviewed this man went out the next day and booked the same trip for his family not wanting to wait another day for the some day to arrive to take this dream trip. My dear daughter and I are traveling in a few weeks to NYC to realize a dream she has had to visit the American Girl doll store...soon, before I am ready she will have left her dolls on the shelf and be moving on to other things. I don't want her to miss out on this dream. So, I encourage you to seize the day! Carpe Diem! God has blessed me with another day of life and I am going to fill it to the brim. Live your life in largeness.You will not regret it!
To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions. ~William James 
 May you live all the days of your life. ~Jonathan Swift