"To live is so startling, it leaves little time for anything else." (Emily Dickinson)
Something was in the air this morning - maybe some kind of charge leftover from the thunderstorm that sprinted through before dawn. Or maybe it just spruced everything up, like a good spring cleaning.
It felt...invigorating...energizing...like I should be celebrating something! Even Charly felt it - on our walk, he actually RAN with Max far ahead of me and Frankie, and he went all the way to the curve! This last week or so he'd been lagging behind, stopping and waiting for us about half the way down the road. My walks have been taking longer because I slow down to wait for him on the way back. Cougars and coyotes are known to lurk around here, but I'm not so worried about any danger to him as much as I hate the idea of him trudging back home alone.
This morning I could tell he was pushing himself, trying to keep up the pace all the way back. Mind over matter, and this morning it didn't matter to him that he's thirteen. Something inside of him felt much younger, and that's what he decided to listen to. A good lesson for me as I prepare to climb that big milestone just on the other side of this weekend.
I've actually been preparing all year...celebrating with each one of my friends as they topped the hill. Today I could feel it in earnest, this feeling of celebration...I think it's similar to the adrenaline rush an athlete gets just before a race. When Kendall and I had lunch today after her doctor appointment, for some reason it felt like more than just a lunch. It was a true special occasion. I could feel it!
Some friends on Facebook must have sensed it, too. They posted happy birthday wishes!
And tonight, at dinner to celebrate my friend Karen's birthday (two weeks late!), a part of me just couldn't help celebrating my own at the same time! Silently, of course...I didn't want to take away from hers. But it felt too much like a gift to me, spending time with these two friends I rarely get to see anymore.
It's obvious I've already started the climb to the top of the hill, not willing to wait until Monday and do it all in a rush. I want to enjoy this, take in the scenery as I go, turn every day into a celebration, even after I'm on the other side.
"Life is a great and wondrous mystery, and the only thing we know that we have for sure is what is right here and right now. Don't miss it." (Leo Buscaglia)
