Reason to Celebrate

I don’t need a holiday to celebrate. I’m the first to enjoy a nice Thanksgiving, Christmas, or birthday celebration. Who doesn’t like a party? But I don’t waste my time waiting for the “special” day anymore to celebrate. After many years of not being happy, I have come to the realization that there is something worth celebrating every day.

The past few days have been extremely busy and I haven’t taken the time to stop and celebrate the good things. Instead, I decided to live in the moment and enjoy the experience of being in Denton for the 2019 Texoma NATS auditions at UNT. Now that I’m home and experiencing a little down time (while I’m doing copious amounts of laundry!), this is the perfect time to pause and celebrate the great things that have happened in the past few days for me.

Today, I celebrate

• Friendship. While in Denton, I had the joy of connecting with another pianist from my past, share meals with a new friend, have precious time with my CLO Momma in her office, and spend countless hours with another dear friend. I needed to stop for a bit while getting the job done, and permit myself the opportunity to let my hair down for a few days and focus on spending time with people who were willing to invest in me and not feel the responsibility of taking care of everyone else for a little while. For a few days, I got to be selfish…..and I didn’t have to feel guilty about it for a moment. It was rejuvenating and refreshing….and exactly what I needed.
• Good food. I love to eat. That’s no surprise. What I celebrate even more is sitting around tables with wonderful food and great companions. Denton provided plenty of both.
• Unbridled laughter. There’s nothing better than a good belly laugh. There are appropriate times and places for such outbursts. I celebrate that I got to have several of those in this week…..and again today.
• Snarky comments. I love sarcasm. It’s my favorite form of humor. I understand that not everyone appreciates it. I try to temper my wit to fit the audience. It’s incredibly refreshing when a friend makes the snarky comment under their breath so it’s acceptable, non-offensive, and incredibly funny. There were LOTS of snarky comments this week…..and I loved them all!
• Loyalty and love. I know that many of my friends are not always comfortable using the “L” word in their friendships. I get that. For many years, I was one of them. I guess that’s why I prefer that you show me your love and loyalty by your actions instead of your words alone. While sitting with a friend this week, I recounted a rather unimportant event that had occurred a few days before our trip. As I told what happened, I sensed that their dander was raised a bit and they became very protective of me and were ready to come to my defense. That wasn’t the purpose of telling the story. I was just sharing life with a friend. But it was nice to be reminded that I don’t have to do life alone. I am blessed to be surrounded by people who will loyally defend me and love me unconditionally — whether they ever say the “L” word or not.