Welcome to the book of life friends.
I woke up this morning after having another round of crazy dreams last night that left me feeling so alone and isolated this morning.
"What am I going to do with myself today?" (A writer often asks himself this question.)
But I remembered this blog and the gift I was given 7 months ago of being able to share my life with the world.
And the message today, kids, is LIFE=SHORT.
Yesterday as I was returning from Jetsetting to San Francisco, my mother's ferret died. Lizzie was 8 years old. My mother is very upset.
And meanwhile I was off living life. She's at home in Missouri, distraught, in the frozen tundra that is the Midwest right now. And I, on the other side of the continent, was sipping hot chocolates at Ghiradelli and riding cable cars, soaking up LIFE.
Honestly, I think that's what my mom and Lizzie would want. They'd want me to keep going and living my life the way I love to live it: through self imposed adventures that I love.
Am I upset over the loss of my mother's last pet? Yes, because I feel the pain in my mom's voice and the reconciliation that she won't ever get another pet for herself. I feel sadness because I was there when she brought Lizzie home. She has been a good addition to the family and an anchor for my mother. I had hoped that Lizzie would survive a few more years for my mom's sake. But that doesn't seem to be the case.
Because life happened.
My grandfather that I mentioned a few months ago when I was in Milan is terminally ill. My immediate family has all descended upon the nursing home where he is staying and I have even gotten word from my sister that I MUST go visit him before he passes further into his dementia state or even passes away.
Honestly, I just don't think I have it in me. 2013 was the hardest year for me ever and the heartache I felt was insurmountable.
And I have chosen to LIVE.
I feel terrible that my last remaining grandfather is slipping away, but I don't think it would necessarily do either of us any good me seeing him before he dies. Because I want to remember him as the warrior and champion I remember from my youth, not some feeble vegetable slowly fading away.
I'm terribly saddened by the loss around me, but I cannot help but LIVE.
I have so much to accomplish in my life that I want every day from now on to be the BEST day.
One of my friends has a saying: It's gonna be great
Anytime any situation arises, she says those very lines IT'S GONNA BE GREAT! no matter how grim or how sunshine and rainbows the situation around us may be.
And you know what? It IS gonna be great. Because for this moment, right here, right now, we are all still alive.
And that is certainly something worth celebrating.
Today's gonna be a great day!
