Wednesday, May 30, 2007

So worth the read..

My friend Larry sent this to me and such perfect time. Read it, listen to it and then do something about it..I did!

I wish you all a day full of love and peace.

My father is doing so much better with my being here, it is all good. My fear is what happens when I leave on Friday. What I am learning is you can only do and be so much to so many people. You can only do what you can in each given day and at the end of the day it is enough.
You must make some hard choices in life and try to live with no regrets.

Lisa

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 people 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 going to 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?

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."Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!" Life is short; break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.

4 comments:

Olga said...

Thank you, Lisa. I called my sister today - she was diagnosed with colon cancer. This morning. Going for surgery next week. Life is a moment you never expect...

Lora said...

Beautifully said, Lisa.

I feel for you with your Dad, as I lost my Dad last year who, also, lived far away. The big advantage of knowing someone is dying is being able to make sure you spend as much precious time with him, as is possible, before the end comes.

I will always treasure the trips I took to see him during his last few months. I feel blessed that nothing was left unsaid, it helps with the heartbreak of it all.

May your memories of time with your Dad, old and new, help bring you peace and lots of smiles.

And here's to Ice Cream!! It rules!!

Anonymous said...

Olga, I'm sorry to hear about your sister. You'll both be in my thoughts.

Your last line reminds me of Joan Didion's book The Year of Magical Thinking - "Life changes fast. Life changes in an instant. The ordinary instant."

R2B said...

So poignant,
thanks