Friday, January 21, 2011

Happy Today!

Terri’s post about not saving things for something special, but using them all the time made me think of how I feel about celebrating.

Why save it for a special occasion? I celebrate anything and everything. If someone makes a left turn right in front of me and I narrowly miss hitting them, I think about how great it is that the accident didn’t happen. I think how my day would have been ruined and am so grateful it wasn’t. So, for the rest of the day I celebrate.


If I do any chore that I keep putting off and don’t want to do, I celebrate.

It the sun is shining and my backyard looks beautiful, I celebrate.

Pretty much any day of the week or month of the year, I can find something to celebrate about.

Yesterday, I got some muscle spasm in my back from the drumming class I took at the gym. When the pain was gone after only a short time and I felt great, I celebrated.

Today I saw the cover art for my next book, Behind the Seams. It's beautiful and I wanted to celebrate. I'd show the cover, but t's still being tweaked, and not ready to share.

And what is it I do to celebrate? Mostly, it's just to savor the moment.

Believe it or not all this celebrating everything came from the 1994 earthquake. I didn’t take the earthquake well. I didn’t eat and barely drank anything for a week and lost ten pounds. I slept in my shoes with my purse next to me. The endless aftershocks were frightening. But then something happened. I began to feel grateful for every moment the earth wasn’t shaking. Eventually the aftershocks ended, but my feelings of gratitude didn’t.

It still amazes me how something so good came from something so scary.

Do you celebrate all the time or save it for things like birthdays and anniversaries?

14 comments:

Planner said...

I'm with you, Betty! I celebrate all the time, too. I'm so grateful that I can walk and am healthy and not confined to a hospital. Any time I'm trying to decide if I want this or that, I'm grateful I have a choice and am not worrying about where my next meal is coming from.

The 1994 Northridge earthquake greatly affected me, too. I thought those aftershocks would never stop rattling my formerly secure world. As I looked around my house at all my broken possessions, I was so happy my husband and I were alive and well that I didn't care about any of them.

Happy celebrations!

Betty Hechtman said...

Planner, I'm glad you're a fellow celebrater.

Terri Thayer said...

I celebrate your post, Betty!

Betty Hechtman said...

High five to you, Terri.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I love your attitude, Betty. I guess I do celebrate things in some ways but don't focus on them. I'll celebrate today that I took my first Zumba dance class and that my Internet connection seems to be working!

Betty Hechtman said...

I have only taken a Zumba class once, but thought it was lots of fun. Yes, Linda, you've got the right idea.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Betty, you are so "spot on." There's a great line from the play Avenue Q, something like, "Just for now." It's a reminder that we need to live in the now, and that things are always changing, so enjoy! Took my zumba class today and went beachcombing twice for shells. Why not? I finished my proofreading, I handled a problem, and I started back on Book #5--so I think each day, "If I don't go to the beach, I'm wasting being so close." I've got TONS of shells and sand and I'm HAPPY.

Dru said...

Great post Betty.

I finished a project that I was working on; delivered to the client and they were happy with the results. How did I celebrate, I took myself to a nice restaurant for lunch.

Betty Hechtman said...

Joanna, your beachcombing sounds wonderful.

Betty Hechtman said...

A nice lunch is definitely a great way to celebrate, Dru.

Monica Ferris said...

I've been cultivating a grateful attitude for the past several years. I just murmur "thank you" when something goes well -- or when I was afraid of a bad outcome, and it doesn't happen. It reminds me that I've got a good life and takes the focus off of the bad things that happen. But I think Betty's notion to take it to the next level, to celebrate the good things is a great idea.

Betty Hechtman said...

Monica, I also say thank you. The older I get, it seems like the more grattitude I feel.

Rochelle Staab said...

Betty, we share the same gratitude gene. I'm all for a celebration, for any reason! Some are small fist pumps, others earn a special meal or gift, some celebrations come in a single moment. I celebrate whenever I get home from doing something fun. I celebrate a good day of writing. Yesterday I celebrated a return phone call. I prefer giving weight to the good things above stressing over the bad.

The '94 earthquake was a literal eye-opener. I'll never forget the feeling of my house moving like a train and the daze that followed. Put everything right smack into perspective.

You inspired me to find something to celebrate today!

Betty Hechtman said...

Rochelle, I'm glad I could inspire you to celebrate. It sounds like we had similar reactions to the '94 quake. Dazed was the perfect word to describe how I felt.