Breathing in all that is right now; this moment and not squandering it overthinking the future.

This is another one of my intentions for this bright, shiny New Year! It has so much potential as all 365 days lay before us, okay, we are about 21 days in so we only have 344 bright, shiny days, but that really should be enough for one year, right?

It’s so tempting to want to unwrap the days, weeks and even months ahead because we want to hurry up and get there or we think we can change the outcome if we just think about it differently; or perhaps worry all the pain away.  Trust me, I’ve tried to worry potential consequences away and it doesn’t work. The only thing I succeed in is squandering my time.

If nothing else, 2018 taught me, that being present is truly the greatest gift we can give ourselves, and those around us.

This last year was filled with the highest of highs and some of the lowest of lows for our family. Being there and feeling it wasn’t always easy. Some days, weeks and months were SLOW and other days were so magnificent we never wanted them to end.

As I look across this entire year and even into 2020 we have A LOT planned.  The landscape laid before us looks beautiful, fun and full of adventure.  We have a wedding to plan for our middle daughter who just got engaged, we are currently looking for a puppy to add to our family, we are going to Hawaii for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, our oldest will have her Physician Assistant White Coat ceremony and our youngest will enter her senior year of high school.  And that is just the highlight reel.  It’s hard not to get ahead of ourselves or wish time to pass more quickly as we wait for certain moments to happen (like bringing home a puppy).

Then there are the things that are on the horizon that are unplanned, unforeseen and often unwanted.  We pray for these times NOT to come our way.

In fact, just last week as I was in Nashville doing a little wedding planning I got an early morning phone call from my oldest.  She had just left moments before and is not one to call while driving.  My heart began to race as I answered the phone. She was hysterical and I am sure my heart stopped for a few beats.  She had just hit a deer.  She was safe and uninjured.  Nothing else mattered.  I kept repeating that in my head to combat the thoughts of what could have been.

She is safe.  She is safe. She is safe.

Yes, it’s going to take some time for her to NOT think about that accident while driving and it’s going to take time to unwind the insurance and getting the car repaired, but it’s all just part of life.  We are grateful.

Just 10 days earlier, we had attended funeral services for two 17-year-old friends of our youngest, who were in a car accident.  As Glennon Doyle would say, “life is beautiful and brutal at the same time.” She calls it BRUTIFUL.  What a fitting adjective.  Life is beautiful, painful, unpredictable, amazing, fun, fast, painfully slow and so many other things that cause us to feel deeply about our days here on earth.

We can make all the plans in the world, and we should, but there are going to be curve balls.  Enjoy the good with the bad.  Don’t squander your time rushing to the next good thing or worrying a single minute about what might happen.  I think we all know by now that all the worrying in the world will not prepare us for that dreaded phone call.

This year, we have 344 days left to live intentionally.  Live them well.

Let us live 2019 gratefully and lovingly regardless of what life happens to lay at our feet.

Sunshine & Sarcasm,
Lori & G