It's A Great Day to Be Alive

Over the last couple days, God has reminded me just how precious life is. Two girls my age passed away over spring break. We celebrated Ethan's 20th birthday without him, for the second time. I visited my Pop in the rehabilitation center, noticing how much older and more fragile my grandfather had become. I said hello to all the lonely nursing home residents, and, on one particular day, Grandma and I met a family friend as he was leaving the nursing home and tearfully informed us that his grandmother had finally passed away a few minutes before. His mom followed his statement with, "It was time though. She's lived a lot of years."

Some people are lucky to grow old, to live a lot of years. Others are taken way before those of us left behind deem necessary. The bottom line is that we never really know when God is ready for us. We never really know when our time here is up. When it's time to go home, can I look back and say that I really lived?

So over the course of the weekend, I found myself soaking in every moment spent with my precious grandparents. I savored every smile, every laugh, every bite of homemade pound cake, every warm robe in the morning, every hug. I found myself crying on the way home as I realized that Grandma and Pop won't be with me for the rest of my life. It's hard to imagine them being gone, and with Pop sick, the realization that their time here is temporary only sinks in more. Every day that he is here and healthy is a great day.

And I began to think about the families of the two girls who passed away over the break. I began to think of all the unanswered questions that the families must have, and I began to think of my sweet Ethan as I realized that they are asking the same question that we once asked...why? Ethan's birthday was a hard one again. He was taken from us far too young, and we didn't see it coming. I wanted so badly to be able to wish him a happy birthday to his face, as I know so many others did, too.

And as all of these thoughts came together, I rolled down the windows of my car and rode down the streets of Talladega blaring my Travis Tritt and screaming that it's a great day to be alive. Life is so precious. It can be gone in an instant. When that time comes, will I be ready? I can't wait to finally meet my Father in heaven, and I can't wait to see all the people who made it there before me. But until that day, I'm continually savoring every day, every emotion, every person in my life. I'm alive, and I'm infinitely blessed....so every day that I'm still breathing is a great day to be alive.

Inventory Control

"Knowing what you’ve got, Knowing what you need, Knowing what you can do without-That’s inventory control." -Revolutionary Road

Lately I've come to realize that I have a lot of extra "baggage" in my life. I devote so much extra time, energy, and emotion into people and things that don't deserve it. So today I've decided to let a few things go. I've decided that I shouldn't waste anymore time trying to make people happy who couldn't care less if I'm happy or not. I've decided that I'm not going to keep working towards maintaining friendships that the other person could care less about whether or not they're in it. I've decided that I'm going to devote more energy to the healthy, meaningful relationships in my life and less to the ones that are nothing but a poison to me. The sad thing is that as I'm writing this, some of my closest "friends" come to mind. 

So....Today, I'm thankful for...

The friends who txt or call me just to see how I'm doing or to wish me good luck on a test.

The friends from high school who wouldn't dare let the distance get the best of us and call me every time they see my name on Skype.

The friends who want to see me, not just when it's convenient for them, but whenever they possibly can. 

And the friends who, in turn, don't expect me to drop everything the minute that they decide they want to hang out with me.
The friends who realize that I have a life, too, and that sometimes I'm gonna be busy.

The friends who answer my phone calls and listen to me cry even over something ridiculous.

The friends who go with me to the library, or Kroger, or the tanning bed, or the doctor, no matter what time it is, what they could be doing, or what they should be doing.

The friends who are never selfish, never jealous, never judgmental.

Real friends.