Choosing Breathless

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take,

But by the moments that take your breath away."

In 1999 my entire family traveled by car to Grand Lake, Colorado to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. During the second day of travel, my 9-year-old nephew asked his mother, "When is our vacation going to start?"

"It already has," she replied. "This is the vacation!"

How often do we simply get through our days on our way to somewhere else? We look forward to the weekends...holidays...vacations...thinking that the big moments are the defining points in our lives. We want the momentous, memorable, important to happen so that we can mark our journey with red flags of accomplishment and wondrous times.

But life is a journey....and the journey is our life. It's sometimes easy to think that nothing is happening, that there must be something else to it all, somewhere else that we are meant to be. We forget that what we have is all we have; that in order to have moments that take our breath away we have to notice the beauty along the pathway instead of looking ahead for the magnificent view.

We all have breathless moments, signatures upon our biography that lead us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

*Being alone on top of Coronado Heights and seeing it in different lighting.

*A hug from someone I adore.

*Listening to music that unexplainably touches me.

*Walking down a dusty country road with twilight on my heels.

*A certain look from my husband.

*Having a bobcat, deer, raccoon come out of the brush, allowing me to view it close up.

*A gift out of the blue.

*A sincere compliment.

*Candlelit services on Christmas Eve.

*Sitting around a campfire with my family.

*Sunsets on the edge of my back yard.

*Fireworks on the Fourth of July.

*Dancing in a gazebo during a rainstorm.

*Riding a bike downhill, the wind in my hair.

*An unexpected letter from a dear friend.

*The brilliant display of Autumn.

*An "I Love You" from the heart.

It isn't how far you travel down the pathway at all, but simply what you see - and how you choose to see it - along the way.

In everyday, in some form or another, seize the moments that take your breath away and leave an indelible mark upon the tablet that is your life.

Passing Thoughts

On this cozy, rainy evening as I sit at the computer in my husband's office...these thoughts go through my head:

* Tomorrow is my dad's 79th birthday...and he is still a vibrant, happy, loving man who fills our lives and hearts.
* The county fair is over with sheep shown and sold. Another learning experience in my daughter's life.
* I love the idea of having an office like this....and miss having one of my own.
* Actually, I miss my old job.
* I'm praying for my friend, Bev, who is going through a difficult time. I miss her, too.
* My son's new contacts change his appearance so much. As is typical for a boy his age, he's growing away from me - in the way he's supposed to - and I'm trying to respect his space.
* I'm not sure if I'm ready for school. It isn't school itself that gives me pause, but all the "stuff" that accompanies it.
* I wish I could meet some of my finances through my writing and photography. Surely Oprah needs something I can do!
* Vanilla Diet Cokes from Sonic aren't a necessity of life, but they come awfully close!
* My niece is getting married in October. Life is going too quickly!
* I love my husband very much.
* I wonder how much longer my car will keep going. But it's running proof that prayer works!
* I feel far away from my stepdaughters right now.
* The rain feels and sounds so good in the midst of this dry, hot summer.
* I really want my daughter to have a good school year. She's too hard on herself.
* My hubby's computer chair is really comfortable!
* I miss corresponding with my blogger buddies.
* I think I must have the absolute best family in the whole world.
* I don't deserve all the blessings I've been given, but I'm so thankful for them.
* I should probably start doing some Christmas shopping.
* I miss having a front porch.
* I'll be 45 on October 17th. Wasn't I just 25 last year??
* I appreciate a clean school 1,000 X more after working this summer.
* I told my daughter that the buyers at the fair would load up all the sheep and take them to a lovely meadow where they would frolic and play. Of course we both knew it was in jest, but it was a nice thought anyway!
* I probably need to air up my back tire before I go into school tomorrow.
* And then there's that laundry....
* I really want to paint some of the rooms in our house. Color...more color...
* I'd like to have a week where I don't have anything to do but scrapbook.
* I love all of the beautiful necklaces, bracelets and earrings they have in the stores right now....being a girl is so much more interesting!
* Most women I know are really strong. I think we have to be.
* It seems like all of our rains are torrential. I remember when I was little, going outside underneath an umbrella and walking barefoot through the rain. We don't have those gently falling rains anymore...
* I hope all of our kitties at home are safe and dry.
* My husband has the best laugh.
* Tomorrow is another day. Aren't we lucky?

Catching Up

It seems like just last week I was packing up my classroom notebooks and trading it for a bucket filled with Terminator. It's been a tiring, hot summer....but it really has gone quickly. A usual summer finds me at home, relaxing with the kids and catching up on everything that has slipped by me during the school year. But these three months have been less of a hiatus, and though I typically am not ready to begin the academic craziness, this year I'm anticipating those first few days of challenge for my mind, giving my body a rest.

I have missed writing...and I have missed you all. I had planned to write things out longhand at home, then type them on the computer here at school during my lunch breaks. And though the thoughts were many and constantly playing out in my mind, I couldn't seem to transfer them to paper. I'm hoping this will change soon and I can once again record the memories and moments that make - and have made - up my life.

I keep saying that I'll be back, and I truly do mean it. Though this summertime path has led me in a different direction than I expected, my return is around the corner and I look forward to the reunion