Have you ever had so much you wanted to say that you didn’t know where to start? I’m at that point. Like in everyone else’s life, I’ve had a lot going on offline.
I’m rocking NaNo! Up to 27K, and I have a clean house, fed children, and a non-neglected husband. My mood has suffered for it though. I’ve found myself sleep-deprived, quick to annoy, and easily flustered. As such, my Red Bull reliance has drastically increased. You know it’s bad when my husband buys me a 20oz can before we go out for a family lunch.
Despite the mood swings, I’ve done a lot of thinking. My husband and I have a wonderful relationship. Yesterday was his birthday. I dropped off my children at daycare and he and I went out on a date. I think I was more excited than he was. We did boring stuff like have an uninterrupted conversation, eat our meal without fending off tiny hands, and take a nap in the middle of the day.
This celebration of life comes three days after I hear the news that my cousin’s love of her life died. Chris Knudson wasn’t much older than my husband and I. His unfortunate death happened while my cousin was away on a trip. My heart cries for her. Though they had never married, he made her happy, made her laugh, and their time together was well cherished. It was something she needed. They knew the damages each had suffered before going into the relationship, and they loved and accepted each other regardless.
This mortality reminder makes me appreciate my husband even more. Next month, it’ll have been 10 years since our first date. He is all I could ever ask for, and I have him here in my life to celebrate with me.
Hug your loved ones today. Tell them how much you care. You never know when life might take a turn.
How sweet. happy birthday to your guy. That’s really sad about your cousin’s boyfriend. My sister lost her husband in the blink of an eye too. You’re right. Appreciate them while you have them.
(And lay off the red bull and get some sleep. Your hubs doesn’t want to lose you either! Feed the kids, love the man, clean the house when you can- no one will die from dust.)
Loni, I am going to hug my family right after I post this. Thanks for the reminder!
27K is AMAZING! I looked you up on the NaNo website and added you as a writing buddy. You are going to have this thing won in no time. I’m looking forward to watching your word count SOAR.
Thanks for the encouragement over at my blog.
Leanne Ross
It’s too true. I often get so carried away in all the crazy that I forget to appreciate the here and now, but we can’t do that, right? It kills me when I hear about such a loss, but I think such things are also a timely reminder and an opportunity to count our blessings. Our lives are so rich.
Unleashing the Dreamworld
Oh god, I’m so sorry. What awful news. Thank you for reminding me about what matters, really, at the end of the day.
It seems strange to add anything else, but…it sounds like you’re kicking a$$ with NaNo! Which is amazing. You can sleep in, erm, December. I guess. Right?
And happy birthday to your man 🙂 I do think uninterrupted conversations become a gift, don’t they?
I’m glad you had a nice day with your hubby. Very sad about Chris. Wow, that’s young. Good job on NaNo!
That’s one of those moments you stop and take stock of what’s really important and be thankful for whatever good thing you’ve got in your life.
Sorry for your cousin!
Life is precious and the people in our lives matter most. We should never forget it.
I’m sure your husband appreciated what you did for his birthday.
Yay for dates. It’s nice to continue to spend time together. I’d be so lost without my Husband Unit.
Hugs for your cousin. That’s a hard thing. My sister lost her husband four years ago this month. That’s hard to believe. He was younger than me and I know my nieces miss him dearly.
Yeah, appreciate those in your life while they’re there.
My heart goes out to your cousin.
I’m glad you took time and just enjoyed each other for hubby’s birthday. A nap in the middle of the day! Sweet!
How heartbreaking for your cousin! So tragic. Yes, we must be grateful for every moment we get with our loved ones. How wonderful about you and your sweetie spending the day together like that.
You absolutely amaze me, Loni how you do so much. I don’t have your energy or organizational skills to squeeze it all in. Work, kids and writing. Wow! And your house is clean. How do you do it all?
Bravo to you with NaNoWriMo! You go, Girl but easy on the Red Bull. That stuff sounds pretty brutal. I’m a coffee fiend myself and that’s probably not good either.
Oh, wow. That’s rough. He was so young.
My husband and I are the same way. A fun date for us is grocery shopping *alone* without the kids. We usually hit the local discount warehouse after our anniversary supper, while grandma still has the kids. 😛
It never ceases to amaze me, how we need a short, sharp, shock as a reality checker.
I am so sorry to hear about your cousin. That is devastating. These stories are always a reminder — one I fear we dismiss too quickly. I will hug my family today and appreciate them (quirks and all). You really do not ever know what tomorrow will bring.
I love the “boring stuff” you did. Envious. So glad you (both) enjoyed a lovely birthday dinner.
Nice word count! But give yourself a break when you need it.
Hi Loni, I’ve hugged my wife and now I’m off to hug the kids as I make them breakfast. Have a great day yourself!
very good post, and you’re completely right. Sometimes you really have to stop and thank those around you for being there, and take a moment to appreciate!
So sorry to hear about your cousin’s loss. I lost a very important family member when I was a teen, and since then I think about loved ones’ deaths a lot. In face, I was just going to breakfast this morning and saw a funeral tent up at the cemetery and I started imagining how terrible life would be if my husband died. I know it’s morbid, but I think I do it as sort of a protection, like a get ready, b/c ppl you love die no matter how horrible, or how hard you want to hold on to them. And sorry! I know this isn’t very jolly. =( So let me focus instead on how awesome you are rocking NaNo! Sounds like you deserve a few messy house days, heh. 😉
So sorry to hear about your cousin’s life. It really is so true that we can never be too certain when life is going to take something we hold dear away from us. As for the small stuff, in the end that’s what fills our days so it’s always best to appreciate it. Boring birthdays are the best 🙂
Loni, I’m sorry to hear about your cousin. Thank you for the reminder to count our blessings. I’m off to hug my family now…
It’s so true we need to appreciate our loved ones. You never know what may happen in life.
You’re rocking NaNo! And managing to clean house and keep up with attending to everyone. You’re superwoman! 🙂
Hi, Loni,
Congrats on your time together and love. Life is fleeting and stories such as your cousin’s snap us back into reality and appreciate the loved ones in our lives.
Years fly and at times we take our loved ones for granted. Life does get in the way and we lose our patience and pick on the ones who are always there for us.
WE definitely need to hug those special people in our life.
So sorry to hear about your cousin’s significant other. So sad. It is pretty shocking when we hear someone dies and they’re around our age. It reminds us life is short. Congrats on rocking NaNo, though!!! You’re halfway there and it sounds like you’re doing awesome!
Much truth to this post. Life is precious and unpredictable. We don’t have a schedule to know when someone’s life is up and we need to make the best we can of our relationships. It’s sad to see so many people squabbling over pettiness and then something happens where they can’t take back the unkind words or recapture what might have been.
I think about these things often, but we can’t control what others think and do. Too bad. Keep up your good work, but don’t get overly stressed and get your rest. Sounds like you’re in a pretty good mindset about things.
Lee
Tossing It Out
So sorry to hear about your cousin. I’ve been where she is and know how horrible it feels to lose someone who is all to you. Life is so short and one never knows when their time is up. Hug your family every single day.
Congrats on your NaNo progress, but don’t forget to take care of yourself, too.
Hi Loni!
From the sounds of it, you’re rocking NaNo!
Only about 12 more days, so hang in there!
Way to go for rocking NaNo! I admire all of you who are doing it this year. I decided not to…
So sorry to hear about your cousin’s loved one. When we lose someone close to us, it does make us pause and reflect on our own mortality.