Get out your tissue. I get this Email from Angie this morning and it really got me thinking about life. I cried when I read it, thinking in the back of my mind "if I live to be as old as Mom, my life is more than half over". It made me consider of all the things in my life I could change to (hopefully) prolong my life. Not really for me but for the kids and Joel. Here is the email:
IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER
by Erma Bombeck (written after she found out she was dying from cancer).
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth. I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband. I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed..I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains. I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life. I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's'...more 'I'm sorry's.' But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it...live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!! Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what. Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do
love us!!
love us!!
I too cried, but was over it...until now! I thought the exact same thing when i read the poem, my biggest fear is that i will or maybe already have failed as a mother. When I think back to when we were growing up I really can't think of a time when mom wasn't patient and kind and she hardly ever raised her voice unless it was really necessary, my kids on the other hand think something is wrong if i'm not constantly nagging them about something? I want my family to remember me the way i remember our mom, not all the litte nit picky things that really don't matter!
ReplyDeleteI am past the point of trying to keep my house clean, or even presentable cause i really don't care what anyone thinks i SUCK at organizing and being tidy...I simply cannot do it, and am tired of pretending that I can, so don't expect much when you visit just love me for who I am not because my laundry is neat and folded (it NEVER is!).
I am going to take time to "stop and smell the roses" or atleast take a quick wiff as i pass? My Family and friends are the most important things in my life and i've taken it for granted too long! As the old song says "Let me watch my children grow to see what they become, oh lord don't let that cold wind blow till i'm too old to die young." I don't want to live forever but want to make the best of what is left be it 60 minutes or 60 years, and am going to get healthier so i can keep up with my kids and enjoy them as long as possible!
So to all of you reading this feel free to stop by my house any time, even all the time? If there are dishes in the sink or clothes on the floor you are welcome to take care of those for me...I will be enjoying life, and trying to keep up on the little things that really matter, and not sweating the small stuff! That's how I want to be remembered.