I am thankful for rainbows..

There are so many things about living and life that I love. And I could just begin listing them. I could go on and on, and by the time I was about finished saying everything I would want to start again because I wouldn’t want the first things on the list to be forgotten. And then I would want to express my thanks for having all of those things in my life. And… And…. I know, already you are getting the gist that this could go continue ad infinitum so I shall focus and attempt to convey the actual meaning of my rambling.

To do this I will start with saying that one of my all-time favorite things about life is that it is temporary. I know, this seems a bit morbid and fatalistic but hear me out. Life is temporary and it will end, which means that our time on this Earth is limited. The limited time we have is what makes everything precious- whether it is that beautiful sunset that poets keep raving about, the love of a spouse or child, the taste of authentic, homemade {insert your favorite food here}, or just a day outside enjoying the sunshine. Everything you do has an expiration date. And that fact, as well as your own expiration date, accentuates valuing everything a little bit higher.

For me, and those who know me will attest to this, I take this seriously. I eat what I want when I want, and I appreciate that food. I still play with bouncy balls and I ring every wind chime I see. Life is too short to conform to some norm and avoid what makes me happy because “other people” don’t approve.

Though, it is even more than appreciating the physical, tangible, or even edible. I also like to take this everything is temporary and so are you attitude to the level of how it affects me and my relationships with people. I spend time with my friends and family, I show them every day how much they mean to me and what I appreciate about them. I say “thank you” for the things that may be taken for granted. I tell my Mom and Dad often how grateful I am that they raised me with the morals, mannerisms, and behaviors that they did. I thank them for the full steak dinners with all the fixings, and I thank them for the cheese and crackers nights. I tell my sisters thanks for always being supportive, especially when they did that as well as being a pebble in my shoe. I thank my friends for listening to me when I complained about said pebbles.

It may be that my life has been ripped apart, uprooted, and shifted so often that I go above and beyond to appreciate what I have. And it may be that I often did all the ripping myself that has made me even that much more sensitive to my blessings. Either way this is what I know. I know that my parents did a stellar job of raising me, my sisters define what it means to be a sister, and my friends are the proof that there is greatness in humanity.

So, yes, I ate my peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwich tonight, hugged a washing machine, talked to my friends and family to remind them I love them, and practiced pushing away the anger, hurt, and upset away. Life is too temporary to let that cashier/driver/boss/coworker/neighbor take away your precious time. Spend it, rather, doing something that makes you smile. And every night, just list 20 things you are thankful for. Every night.