Choosing the bridges to cross

Seems like I've been neglecting my blog and blogging friends lately.

And it hasn't been because I want to.

Life has been one turn after the other lately...

                                                                   I feel almost dizzy.

You know when you hit those points in your life where decisions have to be made? The Big ones?

Choices lay before you...pros and cons listed...and when it's finally all decided....you hold your breath and take one giant step.....

....to cross that next bridge in life.

All the while-  hoping that once you cross- you don't even want to look back.
Or have any regrets.

Since writing here last, I've started a college course which may lead me into something I love doing as a job (for when the kiddos up and leave me;)
And upon hearing I was taking the said course....a manager (of my favorite of all stores)....offered me a job today.

Kids have been moving ahead with things and don't need me quite as much...and they all are living through changes of their own.
And there are other things in Life which seem to be moving and changing quickly all of a sudden.
(Maybe I've been taking too many runs on the treadmill...)


Bridges in life can be breath~taking.
Sometimes you aren't quite sure if you should, or even can cross.
And then once you start to cross, you feel the need to continue, even just to see what it is that lies on the other side.
With heart pounding....steps are taken to walk - sometimes run- to the other side.

{"...Bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach."}

~Earl Nightingale

I would rather say I crossed each bridge I came to in life...rather than hanging out on the other side wondering what lies just beyond.

So I think I'm going to.

As breath~taking as it may be.

~Live life with no regrets~

~~~~~

{Missing you all and will be by to catch up soon.

My last class for this part of the course ends tomorrow night:)}

What if.....

Humans tend to shy away from the hiccups of life.

Trials are deemed unnecessary annoyances that get in our way of truly living.

Reality is: life is most often not a piece of cake or a walk in the park.

But....

What if~ the valleys of  life were considered as springboards to mount the hills?

What if~ the trials faced each day, were seen as a  fertilizer for growth?

What if~ instead of lamenting the problems and wishing they didn't exist- they could be embraced as stepping stones to get to who you actually were intended to be?

What If~ (and I almost hesitate to ask)....one could almost be grateful to them?

So that at the end of the day~ regardless of the hardships
 or valleys 
or annoyances.....

we could still call our day golden?


Just one day closer in getting to who we were actually meant to be.

the Race we run....

(I just came across this on a friend's link through my Daily Mile site.)

This is amazing. 

It may hold meaning for many of you.

And maybe~ 

different meanings to each of you.

Prepare to be inspired.

And such is life. 

~ Race on dear friends ~ 

Life Boats

A sail across the sea.

Life sometimes feels like that to me.

(And after this past week~ it's nice to know that the sailing can vary :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's nice to have a routine and a steadfastness to your days.

But there are times when it's  wonderful and Necessary to have the beautifully surreal moments.

Life can bring some turbulent and churning times....

....and times you feel pretty much out there by yourself.

It's a must to have those you love along with you in moments, even if it can get a little crowded.

Sometimes it's true....The More The Merrier.

It makes up for the times when you feel like 2 or 3 is a crowd.

And YOU're the underdog.

Breathtaking and those "ahhh"  moments must be held on to.

It can get you through those days where all you feel you're good for is work.

Tugging things around to keep the order and sanity.

 Ever feel like life isn't quite what it should be?~~~~
a substitute for what really should be.
It isn't reality,
but sure is nice to enjoy while you're there!

And then there are the days we have strength.

We seem to feel we can withstand the pressures of the journey, 

and stand out and up while taking on the overwhelming tasks of the day.

I love those days!

Of course, there are times when 2 is better than 1. 

Teamwork is an incredible means to journey with.

Especially when there's  harmony.

Solitude is lovely.

And often only bits here and there is what is needed to get you through the next leg.

Did I mention that Solitude is Lovely?

:)

It's nice to know others are out there....even if not right along beside.

Because really...we all are in the same boat.

Even if it isn't at the same place and time.

Life can be a party.

Life can take us directions only the wind blows.

And at the end of the day, 

it's nice to pull your boat out~ and just be thankful it stayed afloat!

And remember....

“When the tides of life turn against you and the current upsets your boat,  don't waste those tears on what might have been, just lie on your back and float.” ~~~~

Happy Sails to you for this new week!

~Only for a Limited Time~

It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Driving to the city this past Friday....

I missed being hit by a trailer which unhitched from a truck, by a few mere seconds.

As I watched the trailer in my mirror, flipping at least 3 times while debris flew in every direction, 100 thoughts  raced through my head.

One of them being,  "What had I done in my day to delay my travel by those few seconds?"

How our lives can change within those seconds is astounding to me. 

Even if you're doing it all right, your next breath is not guaranteed.

I've done posts on this before, but this weekend renewed the thought in me.

I'm thankful I got to see this day.

Hug my kids.

See the blue.

I keep seeing that trailer in my mind~ 

as it was when I passed it, and its condition seconds later.

(Thankfully the driver was not seriously hurt.)

Why did I miss it?

I have no idea.

All I know is I was given another day to live my normal life.

For that I am thankful.

Wishing you a NEW Wonderful Week.

Star of Struggle

{~Another post from the past~

As I pulled the Star out again this year, 

it made me think of what came before ~ and all that is now.

~I had to share this once more.~}

As I shut off the lights of my (maybe-too-early) Christmas tree tonight, the star hanging by an old twist tie attached to the top branch of the tree caught my eye.

It was the star my husband of only 2 months had made with me.....

When we got married- 18 years ago- we of course had the typical struggles of most average newly married couples; student loans, still-going-to-school loans, rent payments, scarce furniture about the rented place, hunger pains.... 

(I remember openly "Yahoo-ing" in the grocery store when Kraft Dinner boxes would go on sale for 32cents...which we then would take home and make by adding the cheese packet with water (no milk or butter) and then have toast with jam (given by his mother) for dessert.

So when our 1st Christmas was upon us a mere 2 months after the wedding- it was quite the effort to scrimp and save but still have enough money to feel festive. 

Hence the cut-out star. 

He drew it on a a cardboard box we had used to move in with, 

I covered it with tinfoil, 

he attached a twist tie, 

and VOILA! - the top for our Charlie Brown tree.

All this to say....we struggled. I struggled moving away from home. He struggled to find a job in a new place. I struggled through nursing school. We struggled to adjust to married life. 

As years went by struggles came and went. But rest assured once a struggle was worked through...yep! a new one was around the corner.

This never-ending battling has persisted....not just with each other and marriage, but also on an individual basis.

And I see it everywhere. We all struggle . Through something. It may be a completely different issue from one person to the next but we're all doing it. Trying to get through our days, weeks, years - scrambling through the mess we call life. And it's hard. 

And sometimes you wonder just why it seems to never end.

When I looked at that cardboard star tonight, it made me think that the struggles I faced 18 years ago- are NOT the ones I face today. 

The ones I face today- I HOPE will not be the ones I face in the next 18 years from now. For that reason and hope alone, I'll keep dancing. 

And I will probably hold something else up in remembrance of the struggles of today, wave them in the air, 

and ecstatically "yahoo" that those struggles are over!

~beyond all that struggle~life is grand!~

~~~~~~

{Just a side note:

Guess what? 

The struggles I was facing a year ago when I wrote this~ are NOT the same ones I was facing back then;)

Yahoo!}