For more information visit http://www.october15th.com
find the love!
-
-
What We’ve Been Up to!
Greetings from the road!!! Thanks for continuing to follow along. I apologize for being a bad blog buddy, I have been reading – but mostly from my phone so I can’t comment. But hope everyone’s doing well!
We’ve got 10 days left and so much more to see!! Stay tuned in!!!
30 Things I’ve Learned in 30 Years
1. Kindness is what you do, and how you act when no one is watching you.
2. Goals, goals, goals. Have them, and go towards them.
3. Life is hard. Period. End of sentence.
4. I have no idea if everything happens for a reason. But it all happens, and you have to find a way to work with all of it.
5. It’s okay to get stuck sometimes. To falter, waver, and regret sometimes. As long as you have people beside you to pull you out and cheer you on.
6. Everyone, and I really mean everyone can teach you a lesson. Especially the people you don’t like.
7. Big hugs make pretty much everything brighter.
8. There is so much in the world to see, find a way to see it.
9. Be lazy sometimes. Like, eat cookie dough and watch Lifetime movies all day kind of lazy. It’s good for the soul.
10. Be accountable. Do what you say you will do. Mean what you say.
11. There is absolutely no replacement for a best friend.
12. Take chances. Jump. Leap.
13. Daydream. Sometimes your daydream will turn right into your life.
14. Listen to your gut. It’s always right. Really.
15. Complain less. It’s even worse than worrying in terms of productivity. And it brings everyone down around you.
16. Go on “The Price is Right”
17. Smile at strangers on the street. Even in NYC and LA where they’re likely to scowl back.
18. Step outside your comfort zone. Often.
19. Find a way to help kids. Or have kids. They keep you laughing. They keep you connected to a world that you leave behind when you enter adulthood.
20. There is no magic moment when you become an adult. It’s just a process.
21. Laugh. All the time. And hang out with people who make you laugh.
22. Sing. In the shower. In the car. While you’re walking down the street. Sing your soundtrack.
23. Exercise. For real. It helps.
24. Take pictures! Document moments. Your memory will fail you, but the proof that you were there won’t.
25. Help others. Not because you should, but because we’re all in this together. And they are you. They are not below or beneath you.
26. Tell the truth. It’s easier. Except if it’s something you can easily blame on your older brother.
27. Treasure moments with your loved ones. You never truly know if there will be another moment.
28. No one is perfect, and what fun would it be if you were? Stop trying!
29. Celebrate moments. Birthdays. Holidays. Accomplishments.
30. Share yourself with others.
On the Eve of 30
A decade of my life is coming to an end.
A decade in which I learned to live on my own, graduated with my bachelor’s and my masters, met my husband, started a career that I love, moved from the North to the South, and grew into a real live adult.
I’ve learned that being an adult is so much different than what I thought it would be when I was a teenager.
It has its share of downsides, sure. Responsibilities, bills, reality.
But it holds freedom, choices, possibilities, and opportunities.
I can’t wait to see what the decade of my 30’s hold, because I know it will be amazing.
I will choose for it to be amazing.
Because life is all about choices, and in the end that quote is true. The one that says something like – It’s not about what happens to you in life, it’s about how to react to what happens to you – because that you can control.
And now, I’ve got me a pair of ruby slippers, so I can never be too far from home!
Bring on 30!
_____________________
Linking up with Molly for What’s the Word Wednesday! 🙂
Three
Here’s to another year of building a strong marriage based on friendship, laughter, and love.
Happy Third Birthday to our marriage!
Beauty
There aren’t enough words to capture the beauty we’ve seen over the past days. Mountain ranges that have brought tears to my eyes. Rock formations and structures that have taken my breath away. Countless times we have all exclaimed “are we REALLY doing this?!”
We’re having the best time.
Yellowstone, you’re up next! (Alternatively titled, please let us survive without being eaten by a bear!)
Posted in beauty, joy, road trip
Tagged colorado, denver, rocky mountains, south dakota, the badlands
9 Comments
2,628,000 Minutes
2, 628,000 minutes ago my best friend was wheeled down a long hallway. Her last words to me were “I’ve gotta go rock.”
2,628,000 minutes ago my Mom was wheeled down a long hallway. Her last words to me were “I’ll see you soon.”
For hours I paced. Wore paths in the pastel carpeting.
Pretended to read. Pretended to hold conversations.
Looked up every time a man or woman walked by in scrubs.
I’m fairly certain I held my breath for over six hours.
Until I glanced up one more time and recognized the doctor. I was sitting alone that time. Everyone else was getting snacks or using the bathroom.
But he wouldn’t wait until I had support, he asked me to step into the family room so he could deliver his news.
My Mother’s fate. My best friend’s fate. The two people in the world I was fairly certain I couldn’t live with out.
“Well,” he started slowly, his face giving away nothing.
I had a sharp intake of air and tears welled in my eyes.
“The surgery went as well as we hoped. Your Mother’s new kidney is already producing urine.”
My entire body started to shake as I gasped and thanked the doctor.
I didn’t know then that we were far from out of the woods.
I didn’t know then that I would face the possibility of losing my Mom again.
I didn’t know that in some ways, this was the easiest day of the journey ahead.
What I did know, was that I had just experienced the most selfless and loving act I had ever known.
2,628,000 minutes ago Stacey donated her kidney to my Mother.
5 years ago.
A million memories ago.
And I have never felt gratitude like that before in my life.
It’s not everyone that can say they know a true hero -and I know two.
*******
For more on living donation, please visit this website. I urge you all to fill out organ donation cards as well.
Are you a good witch or a bad witch?
That’s right folks! I’m reporting LIVE from the city of Oz.
Wish y’all were here.
And remember that only bad witches are ugly.
It really is windy…
Wow! We had a great time in Chicago! We went up the Skydeck (and out on the plexiglass where you can see the city below you – 1,000 feet below you!). We got deep dish pizza and walked along Lake Michigan. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to be touring the country like this. AND, I drove in downtown Chicago successfully with our sweet minivan (Bessie).
Henry Ford Museum
Here’s where we spent yesterday, and if you’re ever in Dearborn, Michigan – check it out! Well worth the $17.
And today, we’re exploring the windy city!
Hope everyone out there in blog land is doing well!!
