This week, I was walking through my favorite store, okay, no it wasn’t Anthropologie.  I am pretty sure my hubby has set an alarm up on his phone to alert him if I get within a 50-foot radius of that store.  One time he actually called me while I was checking out there and I seriously did a double take around the store.  How did he know I was there?  Of course, he had no idea where I was or what I was talking about when I crazily asked him if he had me under surveillance.  I just brushed the whole incident off and told him I was buying a gift for his mother.  Sorry, Sue, the gift is in the mail…

As I was saying, I was in…Target, yes, that was it and I saw a sign.  As in a decoration for the house and it said,

“It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This.”

I sat there looking at that sign and thought, “well, that is the most depressing thing I have seen in awhile.”  I mean, sure, we have moments that we don’t want to end; perfect, beautiful moments we will treasure always, but to think that it will never get any better makes me sad.

It’s Inauguration Day.   Today is the day DT will become our 45th president.  I don’t care what side of the fence you are on, we are all thinking, hoping, and praying that surely things will get better than THIS.  We are living in divisive times and whether you are happy or terrified at what is taking place today, you have to know deep in your soul that it will get better.  Even if it takes 4 years.  Let’s all hope it doesn’t take that long.

I tell my girls all of the time that while there may be hard times and difficult years, collectively, they keep getting better.  I never want to wake up and think that this is it; it’s downhill from here on out.  Even status quo scares the crap out of me!

I once had a conversation with a person who was quite a bit older and had raised their kids about what they most enjoyed doing since they had more free time.  They replied something along the lines of, “this and that.”  I dug a little deeper and asked what they would do if they could do anything or where they would go if they could travel the world.  This person still had difficulty answering.  I was saddened by the conversation and for my friend.  They were literally just putting one foot in front of the other.

We don’t always get what we want.  We don’t always get to do the things we want to do.  There are lots of detours and things turn out differently than we imagined most of the time.  That’s life.  But to stop dreaming?  To stop imagining how life could be; to assume it won’t get any better than this moment?  That feels like sitting by your grave waiting to be pushed in.

I may never travel the world, but I dream about it.  I know where I want to go and I wonder about the places I can’t even pronounce.  I may never do all of the things on my bucket list, but I keep adding to it because I believe that life always has more to offer than right now.

My girls have no limitations on their dreams.  They don’t even have that filter that makes them think for a minute that they can’t do something.  My oldest has been to Haiti twice.  She wants nothing more than to adopt Haitian babies and bring them home to raise.  She is only 21, but I have no doubt she will find a way.  My middle one talks about traveling the world, making music, and living out of her backpack.
I can think of A LOT of reasons why these dreams seem hard, but a million reasons why they sound amazing.

Today, you might be down and out.  Things might feel bleak. Don’t ever think that this is it!  Keep dreaming.  Keep fighting.  Keep living in the moment and keep moving forward. This isn’t as good as it gets and life can always be better than it is right now.

Sunshine & Sarcasm,
Lowi & G