Vince's Journey

In keeping with this weeks theme of Ohio State football; unfortunately this isn't something that the Buckeyes will be doing New Years Day in Pasadena. I received another one of those 'chain e-mails' from Irene Baird, an old friend from my days at the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I thought I'd post it here so everyone can read it. Hope you enjoy the message and never forget, 'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.' You'll see what I mean after you read the following....

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 t heir routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women 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 "your favorite show" on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going
to lunch in a half hour?" She would gasp 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 little Johnny
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
adventureand 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
spatulaand 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 do... 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 a little 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 y ou 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!"

"Life is what happens while you are making other plans."