And I am now Forty/40/XI!!
Woo and a Hoo, as I am known to say.
No more FB posts alerting the world what I am doing that day, no more fretting "when will I have time to blog about it?"...(And here I am, posting the final -2- blog posts 2+ weeks after the project ended. Well, my friends, better late than never, yes?)
Back to today's task: To light a candle in memory of my mom and in gratitude of my life. How I would loved to have spent the day with her, reminiscing and chatting about my first forty. I bet she would have been a little freaked that her "baby" was turning 40.
We recently had a birthday party for Sydney (she's a Pisces too!) and my older brother and sister were here. The next day my brother texted me this message "You are doing a wonderful job with your girls. I see more of Mom in you with each visit". Wow. I can't think of a higher compliment. Really.
Because my birthday morning was a little busy, I was not able to make it to Mass on Ash Wednesday as I'd hoped. Jeff had planned some relaxing spa time for me at Gene Juarez so I had to bring in a friend to help out. My dear friend, Kelley, got the candle lighting started and I finished up in the evening with Jeff and the girls, with a private candle lighting at home and some moments of silence. It was nice. Simple moments with intense intention - gotta love those.
These forty days really just flew right on by. Like sands in the hourglass, these are the Days of Our Lives (I've always wanted to say that!)
Thanks to everyone who read the blog and cheered me on. And made comments! I loved the comments. Anyone who has ever blogged or is a blog follower loves getting comments. It's a weird sort of validation. In my case, this blog was more for me, to have a record of my shenanigans and to be able to show my kids one day. Nevertheless, it was nice to know people took the time to leave me a little somethin'-somethin'! Thank you.
Many, many thoughts ran rampant through my brain during this -40- in -40- project. But the one that remained stalwart was this:
Growing older is not a birthright, it's a privilege.
Amen to that, y'all. Hells to the Yeah, people!
There's several people I can think about that did not get that privilege. Mostly, I think of my dear high school friend, Jeff, who did not live to see 40, or even get to see his son grow up or grow old-er with his wife, Melissa. Horribly, horribly sad. I was so moved that many of his buddies got together to celebrate Jeff's "would be 40th" last August. Wish I could have joined them.
There's people that simply live life to the fullest, that lift others up and make the world a more enjoyable place to be. Jeff was one of those people. Sadly, it seems like the ones that burn the brightest, usually burn the briefest. It's in their memory - in their honor, really- that we should all subscribe to the belief that every day is a gift. A beautiful tragic wonderful crazy mesmerizing daunting precious mind-blowing emotional roller coaster of a gift.
That's what I know for sure...and I am grateful beyond measure.
Namaste.
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