Beginning Again

Wow! It's hard to believe in just a couple of days we will be ushering in the year 2010. I look back at my life and wonder just where the time went.
Where is that little blond girl who was so shy and quite? Anyone who knows me now surely thinks I am not describing myself with that sentence. I am not blond (except for those streaks I occasionally add from a box) and I am anything but quite. It is hard to believe that the woman I am today is the same little girl who would hide under the stove or behind Mamas legs as a child. Yes, I am very different person now than I was then.
What about that young girl who spent her days roaming around the farm? Nothing was better than a hot summers day running through the woods, exploring trails and seeking treasures. That girl still exist inside of me. I still love a long walk through the cool woods on a hot day. I can still sit for hours dipping my feet in a cool stream while becoming lost in the story found in a good book. I am still fascinated by the birds, squirrels and other wildlife found out and about in nature.
Often I wonder whatever happened to that teenage girl who would be lost in dreams while watching the clouds float by. There were so many dreams, so many things to accomplish, things to do, places to visit. Where did all the time go?
It appears I got so caught up in living everyday life that I forgot to live life everyday. I know, sounds confusing huh? I mean, if your busy living life everyday, how can you forget to live life? Easy! Really, really easy!
So often we go through the motions of our everyday life. We get up and get busy. We have that daily routine regardless of the life we have. We get the kids off to school, we get ready for work, drive that long commute, handle all the task we have to handle, rush back home get dinner, do evening chores then its off to bed. Next morning, we're up and at it again - same routine, different day. We live everyday life without living life everyday.
Today, I challenge you to live life, to really live life. Take a minute right now and just stop. Thats right, stop reading for a full sixty seconds. During that time ask yourself this question - "If I knew for a fact that tonight when I closed my eyes it would be for the very last time, what would be my biggest regret"? Well, do you have an answer? If so, take the time now to set the steps in motion to insure that regret doesn't come to pass.
Your regret may be a biggy - something like not visiting that country you always wanted to see, or maybe not finishing college, or not staying connected with that old friend. It may be something simple, like not calling your sister or not holding your husbands hand during that evening stroll. Whatever it will be, change it now. Start checking prices for that trip. Get all the facts together and once you know the cost (and it may not be as expensive as you think), divide the cost by the number 52. Then every Monday put that amount into a separate account, just for your trip. You'd be surprised at how fast it will add up, and at how easy a few cut corners will make achieving the goal possible. Pick up the phone and call your sister, or daughter, or husband or friend. Take a minute right now just to say I love you. Tonight, when you tuck those kids into bed, climb up on the bed with them. Prop up against the headboard and hold them close. Take a minute and ask how their day was, what was the thing they enjoyed the most, what was the most special part. You might just be surprised when they answer "doing this right now". Live Life Everyday, don't just live life daily.
In just a little more than 24 hours we will rush in the year 2010. Make this the year you start living life again. Have a Happy New Year!