Day = Difference

This post is going to be therapeutic, so read at your own risk. I have a lot on my mind.

I have been thinking a lot about the difference a day can make. It actually makes me think about my friend Kathy who died last year. When she was diagnosed with cancer (on top of having CF), her Facebook profile had the line (or a very close iteration): "What a difference a day can make." Her life was transformed in a single day -- the day she found out she had leukemia. Her life changed in that very instant. Most change throughout life is gradual and can't be pinpointed to a specific moment. It's like, all of a sudden you wake up one day and realize that a transformation happened so slowly that you don't even recall how you got where you are. Then, there are other changes that happen so instantaneously that you can't possibly process the information as quickly as necessary.

A nurse I knew died last week from stomach cancer. She had no advanced warning, but went to the doctor complaining of stomach pain and found out that a) she had cancer, and b) it had spread to her entire body. She died three weeks later. I find it nearly impossible to grasp the concept that she was in a hospital more days than not, yet was unaware of the cancer.

Moments like these remind me exactly how precious each day is. It's so easy to get lost in the concept of the future -- living for it, preparing for it, dreaming of it. Sometimes we get so focused on the future that we lose sight of today. I realize I'm not making any never-been-heard revelations here, but this has been weighing heavily on my mind and heart over the past few weeks. No, we shouldn't get so caught up in today that we make reckless decisions that jeopardize the future. However, we also shouldn't harp so much on the future that we deprive ourselves of the things that bring us today's happiness.

Each day is meant to be cherished.

____

Disclaimer: Blog posts like this annoy me sometimes, but I wrote it for myself. So STEP OFF!

Hoooo, Hoooo, Hoooo

That title was me being Santa from A Christmas Story. We're in the throes of the 24-hour marathon (or whatever it is nowadays!), and I always find myself repeating Santa's angry "Hoooo, Hoooo, Hoooo" before he stomps on Ralphie's fingers.

Anyway, mentioning A Christmas Story is the perfect segue into last night's improv show since we did what we liked to call A Christmas Improv. It was a fun show and I had a lot of friends and family members supporting me. A mainstager who's in school in LA was home for the holidays, so he performed with us (Damien). I played Questions and Advice, Narration Switch, and Emo Interview (changing). Cheers to my last show in 2010!

I'm very tired, but I felt like writing anyway. I can't believe it's almost Christmas. This year was unbelievably long, but incredibly short at the same time. It always baffles me how I can feel that way. You know what I'm talking about, though...

Today I got a new phone, so I'm pretty excited about that. It's fancy! I'm enjoying it because I had lost all patience with the pitiful phone I was using as a replacement. This phone is doing crazy-cool things so far and I realize I have probably only seen 1% of what it has to offer. High five for technology!

I really wrote this post to tell everyone happy holidays. This is always a thought-provoking time of year, and there are many things that make me grateful. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this year wonderful!

What I need to doooo....

Hi! I'm doing my vest!

Well, this week has been great so far! On Monday I ran 3+ miles without ever even stepping foot on the rails of the treadmill. Monday evening I met a complete stranger (MJ) who just moved to Atlanta, and that was a lot of fun.

Then, yesterday evening I met MV for coffee at Starbucks. Before we met, I spent probably an hour typing things from handwritten notebooks, so that made me feel pretty accomplished. After we met, I saw The Social Network with ES. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. I never even started to doze off, which is a gigantic accomplishment for a movie-watching failure like myself.

I'm headed to a doctor's appointment this afternoon. It's for a new study I started when I was in the hospital. Yeah, you'd think I'd be on a study hiatus given my recent experience, but oh well. I can't imagine getting hurt by drinking protein... Knock on wood!

My book is coming along! I am really excited to work on it this afternoon. :-)

I am grateful for good people, cheese, and headache medicine.

+1 Hour

So, I'm going to make a conscious effort to blog regularly this week. I actually enjoy doing it, so I hate that I've been slacking, but I've just had a lot going on - in my head more than anything.

Today we got an extra hour of sleep, which was awesome. I didn't sleep an extra hour, but I like that I got up at a decent hour for the first time in a while. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to get an extra hour built into every day. I'm sure it would eventually become the norm and I'd fill it without even thinking, but it sounds so appealing. It's kind of like the way I feel like I have gained all this time when a meeting at work gets canceled. Anyway, because of the time change, I'm feeling sleepy especially early tonight, which I also consider a positive.

Even though I'm not supposed to be reading while I'm engulfed in my book-writing shenanigans, I have been periodically reading portions of a book about being grateful. It got me thinking a lot about gratitude, so I want to mention a few things that make me feel grateful today:
-Having heat as it starts to get cold
-Good food
-Laughing at random things
-My family

I saw a musical on Friday night at Emory (with ES). It was called "Pippin: His Life and Times." Someone I know from the theatre, Robby, played the role of Pippin. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was completely blown away by the musical. It hit home for several different reasons, and I'm really, really glad I went. Hooray for Pippin! I am grateful for Pippin!

Well, I'm going to spend some time on my book before I get too tired to be productive. Sweet dreams!