And with our angels...: Life Lesson: The good life...

Gabriel, Michael and Isabelle, I started this blog more than 4 years ago to recount and remember just how amazing this journey of being your parents is. While it has been wonderful to also keep our families informed and connected to what's is happening in our lives; I always wanted this to be a place where you could look back, remember and cherish the times, like I do. What I've found to be a surprise is that you already enjoy doing this, even you, Isabelle, love to look at the books I created from the stories I've shared here.

And so this morning when I was out bright and early, trying to get a jump start on the day, I was reminded just how lucky I am to have such a good life. I thought, I wonder if I've taken the time to share with you what it means to have a good life. Because in the end, of the many things I wish for you, I wish you a good life... a good good life (as One Republic says). Listen to it. I know its a song your mom likes, so it probably can't be that good, but just give it a chance, it really is.

Some people spend their entire lives looking for the good life. Some believe it is a life filled with lots of riches, more money than one know how to spend and luxury like we can't even imagine. While many believe the good life can be hard to find, I have a secret for you. The good life isn't hard to find, in fact, when you stop and look around, the good life is right there, almost like your shadow.

The truth is the good life is filled with riches, but not in the sense you are thinking. Instead of money, the good life is found in enjoying all the riches money cannot buy in a life. It's creating quality, loving and giving relationships with others that allow you to be who you are, require you to give of yourself to make someone else's life better and to be rewarded with the same in return.

The good life is one in where you work hard for a purpose and find satisfaction in knowing you've done your best. Some days this will be easy and you'll feel great joy for having a job you like. And there there will be other days, when things go wrong, deadlines approaches faster than expected, you make mistakes and fail all while trying. These are the days when its harder than ever to remember the feeling of a good life. And that's where I like to think about one of my favorite songs again. As one republic says, Sometimes there's airplanes you can't jump out, sometimes there's bull-crud that don't work out, we all have our stories, but please tell me, what's there to complain about. So, do you get it? Does it makes sense? While the good life involves a lot of good, there are days that aren't so good. What's important and the message is, you've got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and keep trudging on, to find the good stuff, the stuff that reminds you what this life is all about. The hard days remind you to cherish the good days.

The good life is stopping to appreciate all the beauty in a world that doesn't necessarily celebrate altruistic beauty. While media and television tell us to celebrate beauty in flawless faces with Botox and puffed up lips and other parts; I believe the good life is celebrating the beauty all around us. From a new tree sprouting tiny flowers in its quest to reach the sky,

To the beauty and tranquility a summer's sunset can bring. The beauty in holding the wrinkled and time worn hand of your grandparents and to celebrating the way we age. I remember the feel of my great-grandmother's hand and how loose her skin felt on her fingers. When I was a little girl, I asked her why her skin was so loose. She responded by saying, "When you live a long time and have had as many great times as I have, your skin can't help but get all wrinkled and loose. There's been too much to take in, my skin can help but get stretched." And that's the way to look at it. Getting old and wrinkly isn't bad, as long as you celebrate it and remember the blessings life has given you in each of the wrinkles on your face and hands.

And so that's what I wish for each of you. I wish you a good life. I wish for you a life, where you have have a partner who gives you all you give them and more. I wish for you a life where you feel love from family and friends at every turn. I hope the challenges you find in life teach you to grow, to appreciate and to realize you are stronger than you will ever know. I hope you find joy in the simple things... the feeling of your heart melting when your baby laughs for the first time, when your son jumped into the air with pure happiness after hitting his first home run and when you middle baby comes up to you for no reason other than to hug you and say, "I love you Mom." Those are the moments that remind you the good life is all around.