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Brooke
08-21-2007, 10:55 AM
I got this in an email today. I consider you all my friends so, read this. Slowly. It will make you think.

"Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gas up and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday. I had a late breakfast. It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get the toddler toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Live has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to", "I plan on", and Someday, when things are settled down a bit".

When anyone calls my "seize the moment" friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord!

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process! The other day I stopped the car and bought a triple decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy!

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask "How are you?" do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow" and in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi"?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift...thrown away...Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

It's National Friendship and Family Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

To those I have sent this to...I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do.

"Life may not be the party we hoped for...but while we are here we might as well dance!"

sodascouts
08-21-2007, 11:13 AM
National Friendship and Family Week - how nice! Thanks for posting. Perhaps I should go out and get some ice cream right now to celebrate. ;)

DonFan
08-21-2007, 11:37 AM
I agree--that was wonderful.

Fudge ripple & mint chocolate chip, here I come!

Or maybe an ice cream float! :soda:

Perfect Little Sister
08-21-2007, 11:43 AM
Thank you. :D

EasyFeeling
08-21-2007, 12:41 PM
This is SO true!
Now I'm going to watch the Eagles video while eating lots of chocolate cookies and drinking Baileys in buckets! 8) After that I think I will call my ex-boss and tell him how much I like him. :D And our works doctor just kidding

Molly
08-21-2007, 01:49 PM
Thank you, Brooke. Parts of that actually made me tear up.

Boy, I could have written that myself it sounds so much like me. If I wasn't so careful and cautious -I'd have thrown caution to the wind and been in Canada with the ladies (not to mention Pebble Beach last Feb.) <Sigh>

Do something on your WANT list -not your SHOULD DO list...maybe I'll work on making that my new motto!

tbs fanatic
08-21-2007, 02:19 PM
That was excellent. The older you get (I'm 50 now :shock: ) the more you think about this sort of stuff. I've been thinking a lot about these sorts of things lately myself. I'd really like to do something dramatically different with my life but, of course, I'm still sitting here thinking that :roll: :roll: but I'm edging closer to getting off my butt and doing something.

EasyFeeling
08-21-2007, 02:26 PM
That was excellent. The older you get (I'm 50 now :shock: ) the more you think about this sort of stuff. I've been thinking a lot about these sorts of things lately myself. I'd really like to do something dramatically different with my life but, of course, I'm still sitting here thinking that :roll: :roll: but I'm edging closer to getting off my butt and doing something.

Me too but where to get the money to realize it? And I would need a lot of money. Not that I'm unhappy with my life, but still...

Brooke
08-21-2007, 04:07 PM
I know. It rings so true with me, too. I think the point is to just do something, anything, that you want to do for once. Even if you have to start small. Like...make that phone call or have that ice cream. Try to do something different each day and it will help.

I remember one time complaining because I had to go to buy groceries. It's one of my most dreaded jobs. I hate it. But one of my sil's told me that she did too, but had decided to treat herself for doing it by having an ice cream cone on the way home. It helped me a lot and now I do something like that each time I go. :D It makes me feel better.

Isn't there some song about something like this by that group, oh, you know who?! :wink:

tbs fanatic
08-21-2007, 06:53 PM
:lol: :lol: Why I think there is. Now, who could it be???

Freypower
08-21-2007, 09:08 PM
That was excellent. The older you get (I'm 50 now :shock: ) the more you think about this sort of stuff. I've been thinking a lot about these sorts of things lately myself. I'd really like to do something dramatically different with my life but, of course, I'm still sitting here thinking that :roll: :roll: but I'm edging closer to getting off my butt and doing something.

Me too but where to get the money to realize it? And I would need a lot of money. Not that I'm unhappy with my life, but still...

That's me. To quote Mr Seger 'I Ain't Got No Money', otherwise I would have been on the plane with my mother in a couple of weeks heading for Europe. I appreciated the post, Brooke, but what can I do that I WANT to do? Unfortunately my options are very limited.

Mrs Frey
08-22-2007, 02:17 AM
I'm supposed to be working already, but I'm doing something now that I WANT to do, and that is responding to your post, Brooke. Thank you for posting it, and THANK YOU for thinking of all of us as your friends. Reading that was very touching and thought-provoking.

I suppose I can still be considered relatively young (I'm 30), but I've been thinking about this sort of thing a lot lately myself, especially since I lost my mother last year. People take each other for granted, and are so busy thinking ahead that they forget to enjoy the present with the people they love. People actually make life difficult for themselves with the attitudes they take, and forget that each moment is precious. We could leave each other with angry words, and perhaps not ever see each other again. Anyone's life can be taken at any time, and we need to appreciate each other while we can.

I just want to take this opportunity to say how much I appreciate all of you, and how wonderful, caring and generous I think you all are. Thank God for Glenn Frey and the Eagles, as without them we might not have been introduced to each other.

It's my closest friend's 50th birthday today, and he has invited me to a small get-together tonight, to which I'm looking forward. It is occasions such as this that really make life worthwhile.

glenneaglesfan
08-22-2007, 03:59 AM
Brooke, thank you for posting that, and I have really appreciated everyone's contributions here. I know one of my main shortcomings is procrastination, and this has really got me thinking about things I should do as well as wany to do. It prompted me to ring a close friend last night, and we are going to meet up after work today - the sort of thing we should do much more often.

I am so grateful for the friendship this board has brought - you are all very special people. Thank you.

EasyFeeling
08-22-2007, 06:18 AM
I am so grateful for the friendship this board has brought - you are all very special people. Thank you.

What can I say? I totally agree. :D

Brooke
08-22-2007, 10:43 AM
Gef, I'm so glad you are meeting up with your friend. We wait so long to do those kinds of things sometimes.

My sister and I have been at odds with each other for several months and I'm thinking about trying to reconcile. Was it all really worth it? But, it's her fault. Why should I be the one to go to her? But, what if something bad does happen? Then how will I feel?

Much to ponder.

And yes, I enjoy all of you here immensely. I feel as if I really know you, but have never met any of you in person! And you are each one a friend. All because of the band we all love. :D

Perfect Little Sister
08-22-2007, 01:39 PM
Brooke, who cares whose fault it was? The fact is she will always be your sister. All that matters is you love each other...you don't have to like everything the other does or always agree. Call your sister. :love:

EasyFeeling
08-23-2007, 12:31 PM
I agree with PLS. You all know one of my brothers died end of 2005. I couldn't prevent it but sometimes I think I should have done something. I know I couldn't do anything what keeps him away from the drugs. My mom tried everything but nothing worked.

Perfect Little Sister
08-23-2007, 12:59 PM
A year ago I lost a very dear friend to cancer. I was sitting with him two nights before he passed and he said to me, "At least one good thing has come from this (his illness) my mom and my sister are talking again". It's sad that it took his death to make these women realize what's important in life. How many years of family gatherings might my friend have been able to enjoy his sister present if only one of these ladies had extended the olive branch? Every time my sister and I talk on the phone, we say "I love you". We weren't always as close. I don't want to have regrets. Life is too short.

I'm sorry for your pain EF. Let go of the guilt. You could not have done anything, so focus instead on the good memories.

sodascouts
08-23-2007, 01:03 PM
These posts are all so touching to read. It really is amazing how good friendships can develop online between people of all different ages, all different locales... we start out with the common interest in the Eagles, but it becomes much more than that.

Brooke, I understand why you don't want to be the one to go to your sister when it's her fault. It's hard to forgive someone who hasn't asked for it, but sometimes to find peace we need to do that. I say, give it a shot.

EF, please don't blame yourself. Sometimes there really is nothing one can do to help someone who won't help themselves. I know it doesn't make it any easier to know that, but try to keep it in mind when you feel bad.

EasyFeeling
08-23-2007, 01:24 PM
Brooke, I understand why you don't want to be the one to go to your sister when it's her fault. It's hard to forgive someone who hasn't asked for it, but sometimes to find peace we need to do that. I say, give it a shot.

Soda and PLS, you both are right.
In the past I often wasn't willing to forgive but the older I get the more I'm ready to forgive.
PLS, I'm sorry to hear about your friend. :(

Ive always been a dreamer
08-24-2007, 10:22 PM
Brooke - thanks for posting this. It is so very true. As a wise man once said, it is very important that we "extract joy out of every single day".



Thank you, Brooke. Parts of that actually made me tear up.

Boy, I could have written that myself it sounds so much like me. If I wasn't so careful and cautious -I'd have thrown caution to the wind and been in Canada with the ladies (not to mention Pebble Beach last Feb.) <Sigh>

Do something on your WANT list -not your SHOULD DO list...maybe I'll work on making that my new motto!

Aw Molly - if it'll help, next time we could send some Soprano-type dudes to your house to drag you to the show. :wink:

rcknalwys
08-25-2007, 02:54 PM
Thank you so much for the lovely words, you've opened so many eyes to how short life is and how every thing can change so quickly. We all have circumstances in our lives that could be made better if we took these words to heart. I plan to put some action behind my words and do something to apply them in my own life. Ok, easier said than done, but all journey's begin with just one step, so I'll pick up the phone and call my Mom before it is too late. Thank you again for posting this.

glenneaglesfan
08-26-2007, 10:18 AM
As a wise man once said, it is very important that we "extract joy out of every single day
That's the quote I have on my desktop!


Thank you, Brooke. Parts of that actually made me tear up.
Boy, I could have written that myself it sounds so much like me. If I wasn't so careful and cautious -I'd have thrown caution to the wind and been in Canada with the ladies (not to mention Pebble Beach last Feb.) <Sigh>

Molly, you should make it a priority to go to Pebble Beach next year, and if I win the lottery, I'll see you there!

Molly
08-26-2007, 08:27 PM
Molly, you should make it a priority to go to Pebble Beach next year, and if I win the lottery, I'll see you there!

Kate, wouldn't that be fun! You're on-see you there. Hopefully, Glenn will make it a priority with a tour on the horizon.

Speaking of lottery, I tried twice in the past week to win the Powerball Jackpot - $250 million last Wednesday and $315 million last night. Of course, I played Eagles/Glenn related numbers. But, alas, it was not meant to be. Someone in Indiana won the $315 million. Nancy?

sodascouts
08-26-2007, 08:37 PM
Molly, you should make it a priority to go to Pebble Beach next year, and if I win the lottery, I'll see you there!

Kate, wouldn't that be fun! You're on-see you there. Hopefully, Glenn will make it a priority with a tour on the horizon.

Speaking of lottery, I tried twice in the past week to win the Powerball Jackpot - $250 million last Wednesday and $315 million last night. Of course, I played Eagles/Glenn related numbers. But, alas, it was not meant to be. Someone in Indiana won the $315 million. Nancy?

I wish! I don't like to gamble because it seems like I lose a lot more than I win.... still in the past couple of years I keep finding myself at casinos. ;)