Enjoy Today
Spread the message to “Enjoy Today” by sharing small ways you plan to enjoy your day. Consider tweeting or updating your Facebook/MySpace status with: I'm going to enjoy today by [fill in w/your response!] http://bit.ly/FB8Ih #enjoytoday
My dad wrote this poem for my mother. She found it waiting for her on the kitchen table when she got home from work one day. Years later, pieces of it were read as part of my dad’s eulogy.
I share it with you today, on the anniversary of his death, to ask you to join me in celebrating his life.
My request is simply to honor Mike’s memory by taking some time to consciously “Enjoy Today”.
Enjoy Today
by Michael Zaklin, for his lady Lynne
Alarm, buzzing, ringing,
Radio on, listening to
What it has to say.
News, weather,
Enjoy Today!
Wash, get dressed,
Out the door,
Into the car,
On your way,
Meet the carpool,
Enjoy Today!
Traffic, bad weather,
Carpool companions,
Listen don’t answer,
Hear what they say,
Arrive at work,
Enjoy Today!
Noise from parents,
Students screaming,
Unhappy co-workers,
I must be dreaming.
Listen, don’t answer,
Hear what they say,
This is your profession,
Enjoy Today!
Time to leave,
Hurry, hurry, stand and wait,
Meet the carpool,
Someone’s late.
Ride home is comforting,
Only an hour,
Listen to the companions
Conversation is a little sweet,
a little sour.
Listen don’t answer,
Hear what they say.
Arrive at home,
Enjoy Today!
On the table set before you,
Cards and flowers,
From one who adores you.
Hugs and Kisses,
A beautiful bouquet.
Sweet caresses,
Words of endearment
and understanding,
From one who loves you,
No need to answer,
Enjoy Today
!!
Anniversaries
An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow – Author Unknown
To me, anniversaries serve as little markers in time – something I often find myself using as benchmarks.
Sometimes the benchmark is an approximate association:
“I remember we’d gone to see the fireworks the night before, so it must have been around the Fourth of July.”
Other times it’s more precise.
Birthdays, wedding anniversaries, the day you meet that special someone . . . a single calendar date anchors the precise timeframe that stands out from the other 364.
The more emotionally charged anniversaries are both.
Precise dates that loom over a lifetime of milestones; the shadow they cast a demarcation between periods now in your heart as “before” and “after”.
I have a love-hate relationship with anniversaries.
I love ritual and ceremony, it’s important to me to honor and acknowledge the accumulated milestones of my life and the lives of those close to me.
photo credit: Amy Loves Yah, via Flickr
But I’m terrible with dates.
It’s not so much remembering which date something occurred. I tend to lose myself in time , so often just don’t realize what date it is now. read more
Dad Dreams: Like the Original Becky, But Way Better
macy's day parade
faryl note: I wrote this on Tuesday with the intention of posting it in the “sidenotes” section, as I wasn’t sure it belongs in the blog.
I changed my mind for two reasons – First, the Fearless Blogger posts what she wants where she wants. More importantly, Thanksgiving was my dad’s favorite holiday. Without Mike, it’s different. I realized without Mike, Thanksgiving is like the “new Becky”.
I have so very many things to be thankful for and blessings to count, my memories of my father are among those. I’m sharing this today because Thanksgiving belongs to Dad:
Remembering Michaels
Today is Veteran’s Day.
Today is meant to honor the living who fought for our country. My heart overflows with gratitude and respect for the men, women, boys and girls who have sacrificed their youth, health, families, and lives to fight on behalf of our country; on my behalf.
Veterans – I honor and respect each and every one of you. I know this country has a long way to go to “do right” by you, but I hope you don’t mind if I borrow a small corner of your day to honor the memory of two people this day may not technically belong to. read more
Free Fall | Dedicated to my Brother
I know it’s almost Election Day and there’s so many topics I could be writing about. Even, should be writing about, perhaps?
And I actually have some topics I’ve started writing about. Thoughts on social media and you (yes, you).
Candidly, while I hope those topics are ones you’ll find informative and interesting, if I write those instead of what I’ve decided to write, it’s because I’m being strategic about my blog. Because I’m playing it safe.
It would not be fearless.
So those will wait. Tonight, before I click “publish”, I’ll take a deep breath. I’ll second guess myself. I’ll wonder if this maybe would have been more appropriately shared in an email instead.
If you’re reading this, then tonight I decided to stay committed to being fearless.
