Kiss your Life

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion.  Being alive is the special occasion.  ~Author Unknown

This morning I heard that a friend of mine from high school passed away. She and I life guarded together through our summers on Lake Erie. She had a warm heart, a kind smile and a zest for life. In her adult years, she started running lot of marathons and was always updating her facebook page about new races she had done. She really loved running. When she got diagnosed with breast cancer she wrote to me and said, "I saw you're running the marathon. I love marathons. Right now I'm running the race of my life. I hope we both come out on top." She had a great attitude and fought so hard, all the way up until her last day. She will always be remembered. She might not have "won" her battle but fought hard, beginning to end. Really, the "in between" is what counts, right?

I recently read this quote by Anne Dillard while I was looking for some inspiration as well, "Spend the afternoon.  You can't take it with you.  So often, I find myself thinking ahead and not really enjoying the "in between"or being in the moment. Even with this marathon training, I'm always saying, "what if this happens, what if that happens" instead of just enjoying the process, being thankful I have the legs to carry me through this and, as Jenny says, "Standing in awe of my body."  So today, especially in memory of Olivia, I am thankful for this very moment, thankful for people like her in this world and thankful for the little moments in my life that I sometimes take for granted.  Some of these moments I can think of recently are: new toothbrushes from shuttle, good conversations at book club, couch talk with my roommie, "I love you" emails from my dad, Ewood fajitas and cards from my clients. All of these little moments add happiness to my life. And I so appreciate them, today and every day.

Enjoy your weekend everyone. Be thankful. xo