Carpe Diem

I don't know what happened to me in California, but something did. Maybe I picked up on a little bit of that California free spirit. Before I left for California I was consumed with all the little details of life and my never ending "to do" list. It was suffocating me.

Since I've been home things are different. I didn't walk in the house and immediately see all that needed to be done. I saw it, but it didn't affect me. I'd already scheduled two days on my calendar to do nothing but rest and recover from my jet lag experience. That's what I did, even to the point of leaving my unpacked suitcases sitting for nearly three days! So unlike me!

Yesterday was my transition back into real life day. I had everything all planned and as usual had much to accomplish. All was going pretty much according to plan until I dropped my son off at work. Immediately, I had a thought, "Take your uncle to lunch." Naturally, my mind went to those unpacked suitcases, piles of dirty laundry, the groceries I needed to buy, and all the other tasks awaiting me. My mind said, "Stick to the plan", but my heart said, "Take your uncle to lunch." I followed my heart.

I took my Uncle Manuel to Chick-fil-A, his favorite restaurant, and my son was thrilled to have us there. When we finished eating I asked my uncle if he'd like to visit his sister, my Aunt Eleanor, since she recently got out of the hospital. He did.

I spent my early afternoon sitting on my Aunt Eleanor's front porch sipping iced tea, enjoying a welcome cool breeze that kept it from seeming like a July afternoon in the south. I forgot about the suitcases and the laundry and the groceries. I simply enjoyed the moment relaxing on a front porch that houses a thousand memories from my childhood.

I listened to my Uncle Manuel's antics. He's quite a character and so very funny. The neighbor joined us which delighted him to no end because it gave him another person to tease.

My Aunt Eleanor is like Cinderella in one of those animated Disney films. You know the ones where the animals are all around Cinderella, even helping her tie her apron strings. A chubby black cat sat in her doorway. Little gold finches flitted around the bird feeders she made especially for them. The neighbor's dog joined us on the front porch. A lone pigeon stopped by the bird bath, looked up to give Aunt Eleanor a wink, then dipped his beak for a cool drink. Even the mailman stopped his truck long enough to hand deliver her mail and chat for a minute.

As I sat there in peaceful revelry I realized something. I'll always have more suitcases to unpack, more laundry to wash (that will be dirty again soon), more groceries to buy, more things that need to be done and redone and done yet again. But I won't always have my aunt and uncle. She's 75 and he's 81. I won't always be the brunt of his teasing. I won't always see the tears well up in her eyes as she tells how the Lord cared for her in the hospital. And never again will I have that breezy July afternoon when the temperature was just right and the tea tasted extra good and the three of us just relaxed and enjoyed being together. I'm so thankful I took it while it was available.

The funny thing is that the suitcases got unpacked, the groceries got bought and put away, the kids made breakfast for supper, flowers got planted, and the laundry will be done today. The world didn't come to an end because I followed my heart and took time to be with people I loved, to leisurely look into their eyes, to really hear what they said, and to let them know how much I love and value them. In fact, the world got a whole lot better.

Words from a song that I love, but can't remember who to give credit to:
Seize the day,
Seize whatever you can
For life slips away just like hour glass sand.

Seize the day!