Life Stuff: the Christmas Card

Despite the fact it is late February, I got a Christmas note from my 5 year old niece, Willow, this week. My family lives out of state and made the long trek to Susan's house for the holiday last December. When you are 5, everything is so intense. I imagine the Christmas note she sent is because she indeed believes that my house IS Christmas. To her, it was like yesterday. It is funny how strongly we associate our memories with people. We do this our whole lives. When we have a great memory about something, we tend to think positively about the people who were a part of the experience. Luckily for me, she had fun so I was in the "happy memory" category in her little brain.

When I got Willow's note, I thought about the week she was here. It was an exhausting time for me as I hosted 6 people and 5 dogs at my house for a week. Although I love my family and was glad they came, I remembered getting a bit cranky as the days went on. The constant cooking, cleaning up, trying to keep everyone entertained, avoiding certain subjects so there won't be arguing, etc... it was enough to wear down even a superhero. I also remember Willow. She was running around the house the ENTIRE time with so much happiness, it made it all worth it.

Sometimes it takes a child to remind us what's important. Her whole family was together and it was Christmas. That was enough for her. It is so easy to think of the things we do for others as obligations. We attach such dollar value to our time and energy. We are a results orientated society, with not much tolerance for giving when we don't get anything out of it. Wow. What has happened to us? The greatest investment of our time is and will always be giving to others. When we choose this path, we are often amazed at the way things come back to bless us in return. We underestimate the impact we have. I am glad that Willow had fun. I love that she was here and that when she thought of me, she thought of Christmas. I put her card up on my office wall to remind me. She was worth it.

Life Stuff: PINK RUGS & Memories

Being a new member of Facebook, I have been hearing from so many old friends lately. It is funny how the internet has turned in to this great fishing net we can cast out into E world and pull literally hundreds of people into our little "space on the planet"; old friends, people we forgot about, people we’d rather forget, and sometimes if we're lucky, we even make new friends.

As I was reintroduced to my own past this last week, it was interesting to me what we all remember about each other. It is often some random moment that becomes a snap shot in our mind. A friend of mine from kindergarten reminded me of this pink furry rug I used to use at naptime. Crazy! Who would have thought a naptime rug would leave such an impression? (I remember no ones nap time rug except mine... was I a self absorbed 5 year old?)

As we live out our lives, we never really know what mundane thing we will recall at a later time. We never consider how the small things we do often end up meaning the most. Of course my pink rug was not a "life changing" memory for my friend, but it did get me to thinking about what we remember. Never underestimate the everyday interactions we have with each other; our words, our actions, our attitude... this is our legacy. We have a choice each day what thread we will sew into the world around us. These little daily choices will ultimately sum up our lives. I love what Mother Theresa once said: "It is not grand gestures that make the most difference in the world, but the little things we do with great love."

I hope we never underestimate this power we all possess. It doesn't take much.

Life Stuff: Road Kill

Finally the weather is a bit warmer this weekend! SOO after many months of running at the gym, I went for a run outside. Despite the warmer temperature... not so easy. It was difficult to run on the bike path as the snow is still so deep. After a few miles of "snow bank" running, I gave up and headed over to the shoulder of the road. So much easier! I rationalized that this was Sunday morning. The "cocktail crowd" isn't even up yet. It will be ok... I'll be "careful." As I continued running like an idiot, just inches from 45 mile an hour cars, I couldn't help but notice all the animals that had the same brilliant idea. I saw a cat, a skunk, and a raccoon. All dead of course. I went back to the snow bank. I'd rather deal with the snow bank than a bunch of steel plowing in to me. Besides, I hadn't taken into account the "70 and over" drivers who are DEFINITELY up and driving around now and probably shouldn't even have a license.

I thought about how we live life this way sometimes. We always want the easy way, even when it involves great risk. Of course taking calculated risks are important. But SOMETIMES we do things that put us at unnecessary risk, because we just don't want to deal with difficulty. We risk losing what is most precious to us, all because we don't think we can. Our tendency is to take the best things we have for granted: our family, closest friends, our job, even our health & well being. When you think about it, it is pretty arrogant. In my own quest to achieve things and get to the "finish line," I hope I remember to be thankful for what I already have. I am so blessed. Our lives, talents, and relationships are gifts to us to be cherished and protected. And sometimes, that will mean living or running in the snow bank for a while. Hey, it's a better work out anyways, right? : )