Monday, May 09, 2011

On beginnings

Quick editorial note: I'm going to continue to share Quote of the Day (QOTD) entries, as I like the small zing of thoughtfulness they add to the blog. I am going to drop the "QOTD #" naming convention from the title, however, as I suspect the static title makes things look a little more formal than I'd like. Please let me know what you think. Onward...

As I ponder the meaning of my finishing up one year on the planet and beginning another (yesterday was my birthday...my wife outed me here...Facebook did so here), I find myself reflecting on the preciousness of time. I spent a good chunk of the day simply spending time with my wife, with our kids, with our friends. We ran errands, had a BBQ for dinner, sat around and talked. The phone rang regularly with calls from folks near and far, and my BlackBerry chirped with a similar flow of messaging and social media-borne goodness. I was thankful to be in the middle of it all, that I was able to have a day like this, that I had, and have, a life filled with more than I feel I truly deserve.

Every so often, I'd stop myself in the middle of whatever I was doing, and I just listened. To the kids playing with their friends in the house, to my wife chatting with her mom on the phone, to the dog having a playdate with his buddy. I tried to record not just the sounds, but the feeling of the sounds, the warmth with which they filled the space, and my head. It was a very comforting thing to do.

It was just the kind of day that reminds me why life is fundamentally good, why I need to learn in the coming year to capture the richness of it all just a little bit better.
"Live each day as if your life had just begun." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
And so I shall. Will you?

7 comments:

kenju said...

It would be wonderful if we could all leave our baggage behind each morning, and start anew. But, so hard to do!

MB said...

Wishing you a very Happy Belated Birthday! Enjoy!

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

The soundtrack of supper on the deck last night included a mockingbird going through its repertoire.
I'd like to be able to sing like a bird each day and only remember the good from the past.

daisy said...

Happy belated birthday!

On My Soapbox said...

Happy birthday! Hope it was great!

Unknown said...

Belated Happy Birthday here, Carmi! Great post as well!!

Ankita Sarkar said...

Gimme back them numbers! I wanna catch you botch 'em up!
Jokes aside, I liked the numberings better.
Happy Birthday belated, I was busy answering an exam on that day. :D