How To Stay Young!

Today is a very special day in my life ... my birthday!

By the time most people reach my age, it becomes a negative to "have another birthday!" Yes, even I sometimes catch myself thinking and saying the very same thing. However, I tend to look at birthdays as way to reflect on the many blessings I have encountered in the past year as well as my entire life.

Since moving to Ames three years ago, this is my first birthday to celebrate in Dubuque with my family. Thus, tonight was very, very special. Most of my siblings and several of my nieces and a nephew, came to Mom's to share time together. It was a lot like our holiday celebrations ... noisy, chaotic, crazy ... but I wouldn't want it any other way. This is my family .... this is home -- a home filled with love and laughter! For as large of a family as I come from, if we were organized and quiet, it would be a very sterile and awkward experience for me.

I am most grateful for the love my parents shared to make such great, great sacrifices to choose to have a large family and the responsibility that came with it. Now that I'm in my mid-40s, I am deeply appreciative and totally indebted to my parents for all they did to raise all 10 of us.

What I appreciate most is how they taught us to love one another and thus, the closeness we share among each of us extends to the upcoming generation. I only wish my father were here to celebrate with all of us tonight. Yet, he is celebrating with me as I feel his presence in my heart, mind and soul tonight.

The next level of love in my life derives from the many people I consider my friends! I may not have much money in my bank or retirement accounts, but I am a very rich and wealthy women if I look at my friendship account!!! I thank each of you for taking a risk to invest your trust in me over the months and/or years we have been friends. It is a humbling experience to reflect upon the number of people that freely chose to trust me enough to consider me their friend. Thus, your friendship is a perpetual gift I enjoy and value each day of my life ... not just on my birthday!

Collectively, my family and friends have made huge investments into my life's mission and purpose. Each of you has contributed toward the person I am today! If I didn't have your love, friendship and support, I don't want to begin to think where I would be at at this stage of life. THANK YOU for everything you have ever done for me and all the encouraging, loving words you have affirmed me with!

Within the past week, I received an email from my dear friend, Barb. She is battling leukemia. However, she has a very positive attitude toward her disease and life in general. She emailed me this reflection, "How to Stay Young!" and I deliberately saved it for today's post.

May you gleen the same wisdom as I did from this and apply it to your life! And remember, every day is a birthday because we are given a priceless gift ... our life! So, Happy Birthday to you as well!!!

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HOW TO STAY YOUNG!!!

1. Try everything twice. On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph: "Tried everything twice ... loved it both times!"

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with THEM.

6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the shops, the city, even to the next suburb, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. I love you, my special friend.

11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance.

Remember! Lost time can never be found.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is facing some kind of struggle.