"If life gives you lemons...make lemonade."
"Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and move on."
"The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence."
"Don't wish your life away."
These were all things my Mom used to say to me and I'm sure at some point you have heard them as well. Yet, it wasn't until I was older that I realized just how true they were.
From a very young age we start...
"I wish I was 10, then I could reach the top of the swing set."
"I wish I was 16, then I could drive."
"I wish I was 21, then I could drink (legally)."
"I wish I had what they have."
"I wish I was...."
Well, now...I wish I was younger, but that ain't happening!
My Mom said it over and over again... "Terri, don't wish your life away. It goes by quickly enough, just enjoy being a kid."
Yeah, Yeah, whatever right? I'm going to live forever, and at 10, 16, 21...40 something is like ancient. It will be like a long time before I am in my 40's, those people are so old...
Well, I guess call me old, because I am there now, 40 something (no need to divulge the exact age). I find myself wondering were all the time went. I have so much more that I want to do, that I haven't done, and that I want to see...it all went by so quickly.
One day I am a kid wishing I was 16 and the next I am sitting on a park bench with my husband, watching our youngest run around the playground from the swings to the monkey bars...pretending to be the next American Ninja Warrior; discussing things like:
"I wish we had that much energy."
"Yeah, well I'm not sure I could still do the monkey bars."
"How did this extra weight get there?"
"It's funny, the things we used to want and think were important just don't matter anymore."
"I want to cringe every time someone calls me Sir/Mam."
"Kids look at us like we are old. Dang it, we aren't old!"
"How old we will be when she graduates?"
"UGH!"
Needless to say, my my wish list has changed...a lot, and I am starting to be very much aware of my age. I don't feel like I am 40 something, but my body keeps telling me differently. I have a new ache, pain or something it seems like on an ongoing basis. Not to mention this lovely little gift called menopause. I know I didn't wish for that one! That's another whole blog post for sure!
Ouch! The reality has really set in. And while my husband and I might have laughed about it at the time, those words my Mom said over and over again to me when I was a kid, hit me like a brick. Where did all the years go? I'm 40 something! How the heck? That was too fast!
I haven't done everything I said I was going to do, I haven't finished all of my projects, I haven't seen all fifty states, I haven't....
While my husband and I may not feel 40 something...and most of the time we don't act it either, the plain hard fact is...we are.
We can't change it and we can't do anything about the "should of's", the "I wish we would of's" or the "I wish we could of's" because we can't change the past.
None of us know how long we will be here on this precious planet we call Earth. So all we can do is move forward embracing what we have today. Because, today is indeed the tomorrow we worried about yesterday. (Deep huh?)
I guess my point of this blog post is that we all need to remember that life is what we make of it, at any age. You have the ability to do whatever you set your mind to, it's never too late to start something new and don't let anyone tell you differently.
You need take what you are given and make the most of it, always moving forward. You can't look back, you can't change the past, and you may never have what the other person has. And, quite frankly, so what!
Look at what is in front of you, be thankful for the gift of "today", because today is indeed a gift. Thank God every morning and again every night.
No matter your current situation, good or bad, think of what you do have as a blessing and an opportunity; to learn, to grow, to change your outlook, Don't wish your life away...embrace it.
Tomorrow isn't promised and yesterday is gone.
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| When ever you look at a field of dandelions, you can either see a hundred weeds or a hundred wishes. |
I can't do anything about how old I am, what I have or haven't done in my life, but I can choose, God willing, to make the next 40 something years the best years yet. And with my husband by my side, no matter our successes or failures, I know they will be good ones.
So what if I do not accomplish every task on my to do list, or that the two car garage just might never be able to fit a single car, or that my house isn't decorated like someone else's. I've come to realize that just as long as the things I do complete have meaning, then those are the important tasks in my life.
Maybe something as simple as making it to the school carnival with our daughter, or going for a long walk with my husband or paying for the person behind me in line. Just as long as the things I do and the lives I touch mean something.
When it is all said and done, He will not ask you how much money you made during your lifetime, what your house looked like or how expensive your clothes were; but He will ask you what lives you touched along the way.
I'm not sure what all is in store for me in my life, but I do know that the path we think we are supposed to be on might not always be the path we were meant for. I've learned things in my life, sometimes the hard way, not always the first time and sometimes I failed miserably.
I have learned to listen to my heart, to my spirit and to those that have walked this path before. I have learned that while we might fight the aging process, with age comes wisdom.
I no longer wish my life away, but I do look at that field of dandelions as a beautiful gift and a field of possibilities, for all of us, just waiting to happen.
Don't wish your life away...but also don't stop wishing. A wish is just simply a dream or a goal in our life. As long as it is a meaningful or worthy goal, there is no reason you can't have your wish come true.
So many great things in our world started out as "I wish..."
Believe in yourself.
"A dream is a wish that your heart makes when you're fast asleep." Walt Disney (Cinderella)
I wish...