29-05-2005, 04:52 PM
I have a friend who lives by a three-word philosophy:
Seize the moment. Just possibly, she may be the wisest
woman on this planet. Too many people put off something
that brings them joy just because they haven't thought
about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know
it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their
routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those women on the
Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful
night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried
to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their
husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after
something had been thawed? Does the word "refrigeration"
mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in
silence while you watched Jeopardy! on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said,
"How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would
gasp and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line.
My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had
a late breakfast, It looks like rain. And my personal
favorite: -"It's Monday". She died a few years ago.
We never did have lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we
tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse
diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the
conditions are perfect:
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get
Stevie toilet-trained. We'll entertain-when we replace
the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon
when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days
get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets
longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show
for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on"
and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit." When
anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to
adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind
on new ideas.
Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her
for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet
for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a
bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love
ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it
directly to my hips with a spatula and eliminate the
digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and
bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on
the way home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to
.....not Something on your SHOULD DO list.
Seize the moment. Just possibly, she may be the wisest
woman on this planet. Too many people put off something
that brings them joy just because they haven't thought
about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know
it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their
routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those women on the
Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful
night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried
to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their
husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after
something had been thawed? Does the word "refrigeration"
mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in
silence while you watched Jeopardy! on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said,
"How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would
gasp and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line.
My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had
a late breakfast, It looks like rain. And my personal
favorite: -"It's Monday". She died a few years ago.
We never did have lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we
tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse
diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the
conditions are perfect:
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get
Stevie toilet-trained. We'll entertain-when we replace
the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon
when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days
get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets
longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show
for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on"
and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit." When
anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to
adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind
on new ideas.
Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her
for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet
for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a
bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love
ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it
directly to my hips with a spatula and eliminate the
digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and
bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on
the way home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to
.....not Something on your SHOULD DO list.