With the New Year approaching, my 40th birthday on December 29th and all the trauma and blessings that have occurred in a short few months, I think it is a good time to reflect and take stock of this "gift" we call the present. Being the Capricorn that I am I have a tendency to want to secure my future and so I can find myself getting lost in the stresses that come with assuring this will be done. Yes, it is very important to look ahead and make sure that we are safeguarding our family's future, but it is also very important to make sure we stay in the present and actually "feel" the gift that is right under our nose. My husband almost dying and still being in the hospital has been a real dose of "reality" for me. It makes me want to fill each moment with as much love and happiness as possible. I look at my daughter and see a cup that I want to pour all the special happy memories and knowledge into as much as I can. The opportunities are there with each moment and getting lost in the stresses of life can take away our ability to create as much happiness as can be. That is why the need to "reflect" is a constant. I want my 40th year to be the year I am inspired through my daughter's spirit to inspire and give as much of myself. We have such little time on this great Earth and it is up to us to create the happiness we all crave by using the "gift" of the "present".
That is a GREAT picture! Happy one-day-early birthday! Hopefully you're dug out from this crazy snow!!
ReplyDeleteI love the gift of the present! What a great way to think about life.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday!
You're so, so right. I swear, we are related somehow! We have the same views on this stuff!
ReplyDeleteYou have an amazing attitude, and I know that you'll make the best of anything that comes your way :-) You should be very proud of that :-)
so perfectly said :) Great picture too! Wishing You a Happy New Year filled with MUCH love!!
ReplyDeleteAhhh!! She is just too cute! what a beautiful picture of you two. Happy early birthday and I hope you had an amazing Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI'm having a massive sale over on my blog. Be sure to check it out :)
So true and what a wonderful time to reflect on our blessings and think of the positive. I hope your husband will be better soon. Thinking of you all. Happy almost Birthday.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Love!
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com
Great post! There is s way to enjoy every minutenofnlife and it is by staying in the present. How incredibly tough is that tho! Your husband and your family are in my thoughts and prayers!
ReplyDeleteYou have such a wonderful way of saying what is so true, and so hard to put into words. You inspire me to live in the present, to really appreciate Georgia and not take for granted any of the joys that I have with her. I'm praying your husband gets out of the hospital, but also praying that you find joy in the spaces in between all the trauma and stresses.
ReplyDeleteHappy early birthday dear friend! I am thinking of you and your family and sending lots of positive thoughts your way for your husband's healing. Looks like you created an absolutely beautiful Christmas for your darling daughter! Love that picture of you two!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! I found the 40s to be a time of realizing what is really important and letting go of the social pressures to have or to be this or that. It is so freeing! We sold our "big" house and downsized to a cute urban home that we adore.
ReplyDeleteSpending time with family and friends is truly what is important, and our smaller house is always filled with people of all ages. I love it!
I love the photo of you and Little Chick. You are always cheek to cheek in the photos - did you know that this is the sign of a good mother? When I gave birth to Michael my husband had a broken arm. I wanted to go home right away because my other son was still in diapers. (Have you tried changing diapers with one arm in a cast? Not easy!) The nurse saw that I held Mikey up to my cheek, skin to skin, and she said that she knew I'd be fine to go home because that is the classic sign of a good mother.
wow, you've certainly had a rollercoaster ride these past few months.
ReplyDeletehappy early bday, 40 is GREAT!! and your attitude is even better : )
enjoy each minute and take care!
jeremi
Happy early birthday!! I pray your husband is doing well.
ReplyDeleteSeriously Mama Hen, you don't look a day over 30!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, do cherish and enjoy our time on earth!
I understand! It's hard for me to be deliberate with each day, but it is a gift to invest in others or waste it.
ReplyDeleteWishing you the best, especially as you still have a lot going on!
Mama Hen, I am so sorry, I haven't been keeping up and I just got caught up. I know you have tones of bloggie followers but I too am going to begin praying for husband and family. I am so sorry about it all. I read the one about husband when he was trying to get help, it made me so upset...I think you need to march right back to those places once he is on his feet and feeling good and tell them just what they pushed out the door! I am sickened!
ReplyDeleteOn another note...it's your birthday tomorrow. How sweet! I ask the Lord to bless you extra on this day. Have a fantastic day.
Love, Marlece
Mama Hen you always know how to say just the right things! You really inspire me, by the way you always try and find the silver lining in any situation. Beautiful post, I couldn't agree with you more! I hope you have a wonderful Birthday tomorrow! And I hope you all have a wonderful New Year too!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, those stresses of life have a way of trying to steal away the "gift" of the "present". I love this word picture you painted, it's so true. What you also wrote when you first posted about your husband, "Fear of loss has a way of putting everything into perspective" resonated with me today. My daughter and I were talking about a dream she had about her daddy dying and as she told me, she started to cry. It reminded me how we are so important to each other and need to let each other know that more often.
ReplyDeleteSaid so well. Since I met you - I would say that this has always been front and center in your thinking but sometimes a wake-up call can jolt us and reinforce something that we take for granted.
ReplyDeleteHappy, happy birthday MH. I hope your husband can come home to celebrate it with you.
Thinking of you!!
AWE!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA HEN!!! We are both turning 40 this year (another reason why I must love you so much!!!) and this year, I am wishing you a most WONDERFUL YEAR! My dear, you have been through so much the past few months, and I can only say that I believe God gives you what you can handle (so you MUST be one TOUGH COOKIE!!) I am sending you wonderful Birthday wishes and a year full of GOOD HAPPY and MAGICAL moments, dear friend!!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a happy birthday! We have had many birthdays this month, my dad, cousins, aunts and in laws and my husband.
ReplyDeleteMama Hen, Happy Birthday my special friend :)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more Mama Hen. Being and enjoying the present is going to be on my list of New Year's resolutions, too. Please wish your husband well. (I hope he returns home soon.) AND Happy Birthday Mama Hen. May 2011 and your 40th year bring much happiness, love, and HEALTH your way.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an excellent thought. Enjoying now, and along with that, enjoying what we have. Too many children grow up feeling deprived because they're always looking at what they don't have, rather than what they do have. And like you said, we look to the future, rather than the present. Great thought to ponder. Darling pic of you and Little Chick.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post! I figured out what happened with your husband by accident. I was hopping around, stopped at your sister's site(which I did not know was your sister at the time), saw your picture, and her beautiful post, and the rest is history. I'm so sorry that he's still in the hospital! I'm praying for his health and healing! Happy Birthday to you, my bloggy friend!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Happy Birthday!!!!!!! Wow what a year you've had, Mama. Sounds like even with the storm outside your feet are fixed firmly on the ground and you've got everything in a healthy perspective. Kuddos - that's not easy. Sincerely hope your husband is home soon and you guys to get back to a sense of 'normal' life again. Hope you have a great b-day year! Thanks for being such an amazing bloggy friend.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Such true statements and beautiful put! You have had a lot thrown at you in the past few months but you're handling it all so well... as evident on Little Chicks smiling face! It's so important to focus on the now. I sometimes forget that and feel as though I missed out on some great memories! Enjoy your birthday!
ReplyDeleteMama Hen....Happy Birthday. Your going into your 40's as a trooper and a girl that is determined to get everything done with grace, will and a couple tears thrown in there because sometimes that's what it takes.
ReplyDeleteYour husband is still in my prayers for his recovery. Prayers for your strength.
Thank you for dropping by my blog and commenting about the new 'do'.
God bless your day girl!
Hugs, Viola
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Cousin. Love you very much. Hope you have great day. you and your family are in my prayer.
ReplyDeletelove,
merhnoush
Happy birthday and best wishes for a new year of making memories and sharing love in the present :)
ReplyDeleteHttp://blmerrill.blogspot.com
Happy Birthday! I hope you are able to enjoy the present stress-free. The ability to do that is truly a gift!
ReplyDeleteMy dear friend,
ReplyDeleteI just saw the post about your husband. I cannot tell you hope sad I am that people did not come to his aid. But there must have been an angel there with him, so we must be thankful that he's here today. I hope he is continuing to get better.
You're amazing my friend and him and little Chick are so lucky to have you.
Many blessings to you and your family in 2011.
Thinking of you! Hugs xoxo
P.S. Happy Birthday!
ReplyDelete