By: C. Michelle Bryant
Although spring is typically my favorite season, this previous one has been bittersweet for mi. As much as I enjoyed watching new life begin to bloom and blossoms burst on various trees around mi, I also lost a very dear friend from my childhood days way too soon. So from now on, the new growth of spring will also produce great sorrow. Although spring will forever hold different memories and recollections for mi, I choose to remember the beauty and colorfulness of the blossom and not the whither of his departure.
While it is true that I prepare and delve into summer, I still hear his words whisper in the wind, and his wisdom with full force captivates my memories at the most bizarre moments. It is also correct to note that I am still in shock that I will never speak to him again or chuckle at his sense of humor. His footprint is permanently embedded in my heart, my days and my life.
For myself, and most others I know, summers are often filled with children home from school, family outings and picnics, vacations and adventures.
But what is sometimes supposed to be our time to “get away” and relax tends to only promote the need to take a vacation from our vacation. Before we know it, we are anticipating the luxury of getting our “normalcy” back and look forward to our regular routines.
Fill every second of every day living your life to the absolute fullest. Tell loved ones what they mean to you, take the trip, make the visit, eat the cake and be free, fun and happy in the moment—in every moment. Hold on to the seconds and make them count. Instead of getting to the point of saying you wish you had done, been, seen, accomplished, just do, go, see, achieve.
This summer, however, I challenge you to lie by the pool, squish your toes in the sand, enjoy your backyard barbeque or sing songs on your road trips. Please embrace not only the moments but also the memories and the ones in which you share these. Life is fleeting and these bursts of life will not return.
Already engaging in longer days, loads of laughter and fun-filled experiences, however, his memory reminds mi that I am to not forget the beauty that surrounds mi, which he left behind, and I must continue to celebrate his legacy so that he may forever be still present.
Take this time to grab the long days of summer and fill them with laughter, love and experiences. Overflow your days and build your legacy so that even separated by miles or oceans, while still around you can remain a whisper in the wind and will always still be present.
stay, fabulous, stay you!
“mi”