Wednesday Words of Wisdom #134
Mark Twain said, "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and add in a few more here.....
Aaaaaaand, Boom. There you are.
Born.
Day one, and the first of the most important days of your life.
What follows is a series of events, scenarios and choices that make you who you are and that will make up the sum total of this thing you will end up calling your Life.
Its a miracle that you’re here at all. Of all those little swimmers heading flat out for the egg, you were the first one home. And who says you’ve never won anything before, you just won the most important race of your life…..
The day you meet your BFF’s (Best Friends Forever) for the first time. You recognise their weirdness instantly, it matches your own. You know they will be trouble and you love that. They are your particular brand of crazy and that suits you just fine.
The day you start Primary School. You’re shit scared and excited all in the one go. This will result in multiple trips to the bathroom for you and your hysterical mother who will be in very real danger of suffering dehydration due to the copious amounts of fluids she loses through crying her lamps out.
The day you win your first sporting/academic/extra curricular event. You’ve never felt this strange feeling before. Its a mixture of overwhelming joy, embarrassment, excitement and love, its called pride and you quite like how it feels. You make a mental note of it.
The day you encounter Death but are too young to understand its meaning. Everyone is crying and you get that they’re sad but the full impact of the situation escapes your young mind.
The day you ace your first big exam. You feel rewarded for the work everyone made you do. You didn’t want to do it but you’ll be damned if you don’t take the credit anyway!
The first day of the School Summer Holidays. Its feels like it will last forever and that’s just fine by you. Swimming in the river, fishing, riding bikes, playing football until dark, ice pops, being ate by midges, summer scheme, water fights, rounders with the whole park and generally just being a total badass for the entire summer.
The first day of ‘Big School’. OK so shit just got real. No longer are you the oldest in the school, you’re back at the bottom of the ladder and there isn’t a sand pit in sight. The knot in your stomach takes until after Christmas to f*#k off.
The day of your first kiss. An awkward exchange that more resembles feeding time at the zoo than any kind of romantic encounter, both parties are just happy to have it over them and move on without ever making eye contact again.
The day you get your ‘Big’ exam results. These can have a huge bearing on your future, or not as you soon realise. You’re just glad to have them done and dusted and be heading into another endless summer!
The day you encounter Death and understand exactly what it means. It swoops in and take a part of your very being. Now you know and you wish that you could forget it forever. You won’t.
The first day of University. This whole thing can go one of two ways, either way, trust me when I say you will be OK! The next big one would be graduation but I never did so I can only assume it feels awesome to have a tangible reward for all of your efforts through Uni.
The day you meet your soul-mate. S/he is different from all the rest. You don’t know why and you don’t care, when you’re in their company it just feels ‘right’. You know you’re going to spend the rest of your life trying to make them feel as good as they do you.
The day you realise what you were put on Earth to do. People call it their calling, I just call it your path. Its true that when you find your path, it make life so much easier. No longer does it feel like you’re travelling uphill and you can actually enjoy the scenery now!
The day you make your ‘nest’. Your first home together is special, its your fort and your sanctuary from the outside world. Just you and them against the world.
The day you get your first pet. Their love for you knows no bounds, try to match that as best you can.
The day that you ask and she says ‘I do’. No words will accurately describe the fear before and the elation after but suffice to say you will remember this day forever.
The day you watch them walk up the aisle. Beauty needs an update in the dictionary and this is the image that should accompany it.
The day she gives you the greatest gift of all. You never knew how much you wanted to become a parent until it happened.
The day you look into the eyes of your daughter. No words.
Today. Its a gift not afforded to everyone so use it wisely. Don’t get too hung up on your past and don’t become so invested in your future that you forget to live your today.
The days I have spoken of are memorable points from my life. Some good, some bad, they wouldn’t be memorable at all if I weren’t present in the moment when they happened and fully engaged in all of the emotions that they brought about.
I’m 30, I have a lot more living left to do and I know that it begins today.
Be thankful for your today and your tomorrow will turn out just fine..