Category Archives: optimism

life, optimism, point of view, travel

How I’m honoring 9/11: By Living

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I would be remiss to not post some thoughts on September 11th. I’ve posted the last several years regarding this day…

I missed 2009 due to my 10-year class reunion landing around the same time.

Here it is 2013, and here is how I plan to spend the day:

I’m going to fly. I’m going to board a plane and fly. When I booked my flight back to Nashville for this trip, I hesitated a moment when I realized my return flight would land on 9/11. Did I really want to fly on this day?

Yes. Yes I did. I would fly on 9/11, and I will take time on that flight to sit and remember. I’ll remember those souls lost that morning in 2001. I will honor their memory, and take a moment to grieve the loss of our innocence that day. I will remember where I was that day. I will muse over how much has changed in the years since… both in our country as well as in my personal life. I will look down on the Earth from my window seat, and I will marvel at being alive. I will marvel at being such a small piece of the larger picture.

I will pray. I will pray for those left behind by those lost that September day. I will pray for safety of all those traveling. I will pray for strength to face my fears but to also accept what life brings to me… the good and the bad. I will pray for wisdom and understanding. I will pray for faith to trust in God. I will pray for our country, our soldiers, our government leaders, and all the world’s leaders. I will pray and have a nice conversation with God while I fly on 9/11.

I will hug my parents extra tight as we say good-bye at the terminal. I will do the same with my husband when we greet each other at another terminal. I will say, “I love you” with an extra conviction to those I love — family and friends. I will strive to love more today, praying for the patience I sometimes lack with others. Today is not the day to get frustrated. Today is the day to strive to understand.

I will never forget 9/11/2001. But I think the best way I can honor that day is by simply living… living the best way I can.

 

Fotor091133950

fun, optimism, play

Go outside and play

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Some days, I get up and I have energy to burn. My legs itch to run. I imagine myself doing cartwheels. I want to play or attack cleaning the house.

All too often, life dictates I do something else. Something more mundane. Something… not what I want to do.

Today? I gave in to the want. Indian Summer… the temps hit mid 70s today, and the sun broke through the clouds as I stepped out on my porch. Instantly I wanted to be 10 years old again, running through the field, swinging on a swing, playing a game of baseball.

And I decided… the laundry could wait. The blog could wait. The CD design could wait. The dishes could wait. I was going to play.

I got out my bike, and I rode up and down the drive way. Down was the most fun, where I didn’t even have to pedal, just let the wind whip my hair. I rode down, into the grass, around the garage and had to stand up and push to keep momentum back up onto the concrete. My legs screamed at me. I loved it.

I rode until I was panting and my hair was damp with sweat. Then I came into the house, and kept the forward motion going — cleaning the kitchen, starting the laundry and making spaghetti for supper. My husband commented that I was just a flurry of energy today.

And I was! All because I decided to take an hour out of my day and go outside to play.

Loved. It.