What I learned Yesterday...

Yesterday I was privileged to attend a family gathering which included all 5 generations that my family is blessed to have. I have to admit though as I'm moving up the "ladder" of the generations and getting closer to the top.. the ones ahead of me are in their 80's.. it makes me think. I have such wonderful memories of when we were all much younger and doing such different things at these gatherings but no one escapes the wrath of time.. we all get older and pass into different stages and I've come to find out there's no votes asked for on if you want to "move up"!!

All this to say.. what I came away with is this.. on the ride home and today.. I started to think about how easy it is to think about my Mom, my aunts and uncle and their "legacy" and all of my fond memories of times past.. how certain ones were the ones who took the time to spend with us while others always were busy with their daily lives and while I knew they loved us I really never had that quality time with them to look back on and remember.

I'm sure by now you're on to what the next step of my thinking was.. what is my legacy going be? Whether I have a week or 50 years left.. my minutes have been spent for making imprints in some minds and I think about what will they remember? Will they remember me as being the woman that was so busy filling every minute of every day with "things" so that I felt productive? Or did I spend any quality time doing things that mattered in the long run?

I have vowed to be much wiser with my minutes.. because even though it's not like the cell phone companies and I'm not being billed for them... in another way.. I really am. Based on my choices on how I spend my minutes.. I am writing my history with those I love.. and what do I want my legacy to be? How bout you?

My Minutes Matter....

My Minutes, Your Minutes.. it's the minute part here that matter. Some of us have this feeling in the back of our heads, or maybe the front, that due to our age, position in life, or any other difference that one minute is more important than another. For instance.. does the President of the United States' Minutes "matter" more than yours or mine? I think that we have the misperception that because he is considered one of the most powerful men on the planet that his minutes matter much more than ours, and therefore what difference do ours really make?

Here's what I was "pondering" yesterday as I was hit by this. When I was a little girl, my wise Grandpa who lived to be a very healthy age of 96, and was loved and respected by all used to tell me "take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves". This has never let me down in the finacial world, so I thought about applying the principle to other things in life. If I began to make the conscious choice to steward each and every minute without giving in to worry about things in my future or fret about things in my past, would the hours and days turn out okay too?

Because I have been blessed to talk to people from all walks of life and from every age group I find one thing in common, the teens are wishing they were adults so they could have freedom, the young adults are wishing they could go back so they could escape responsibilities, young parents are wishing the days would end so that nite could come only to find that nite passes oh so quickly only to do it all over again, and the middle age are looking back wondering where the time went and if only they could do it again so they could take the time to enjoy their children and younger years. I find it's one age group that has found the value of the "now" and that's the oldest.. for they realize that they are living in a time frame where their tomorrows are not quarenteed.. but then why is it that any of us at any age think we have that quarentee of time? All we have is this heart beat, or this minute.

So you can see.. I think our minutes matter.. what do you think?