Slowing down

I'm the impatient type. Pretty sure I've mentioned that a few times before.

Life is to be enjoyed for sure, but I'm always looking forward to something that is going to happen in the future. Anticipation is half of the fun.

My library is coming along nicely (more on that later.). And I can hardly wait to start decorating it.

After the library is finished Jon will start putting down the hardwood floors.

And I'm so sick of this carpet that I'm dying to have that done already.

We are taking some really fun trips this year. Can't wait!

Spring and summer can't get here soon enough.

And the list goes on. . .

But last week I went to a funeral of a great, great aunt.

My grandpa is the 2nd in a family of 13. So this aunt was only about 15 years older than my grandparents.

She was 98 when she died and had a great long life.

Her husband and son (who died at 13 yrs old) had already left her. 

So she was alone except for her nieces and nephews.

At her funeral she had a few church members and her extended family.

If she hadn't cultivated friendships with her extended family there would have been no funeral and no one coming to say good bye.

This funeral was one of the "nice" ones. She was sick before she died and heading towards 100. So it wasn't unexpected. And since I now live closer I was able to go and spend several hours with all of my family, some who I hadn't seen in a long time.

 Above: Great Uncle Steve, Great Aunt Ann, Great Aunt Rita

Below: My grandpa, mom, grandma

The funeral accomplished a few things for me.

1. I am so very, very thankful to be living closer to my family. I've missed them.

2. I'm more in love with my husband and kids and so glad that Jon and I have those two little monkeys.

3. I am going to be thankful for each moment of my life and try harder to savor it. When life is close to the end, I won't have as much to look forward to and will have more to look back on. I don't want to be so primed at anticipating things that I don't have anything to look back on - no memories to savor.

So here is to savoring each and every moment of life, to enjoying the simple things, to savoring my blessings!