SHOULDA WOULDA COULDA...U NEED TO READ

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 days ago. We never did have lunch  together.


Because we cram so much  into our 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 Steve 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.


Life 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? I had a friend from high school that I was always going  to call and never did. The other day her name was in the obituaries  so we never had that chat.

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. 



Show your friends how much  you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND including me  if you consider me a friend. If it comes back to you, it affirms  your 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!

Submitted By: Paul Armstrong