It Starts Today

Today is the first day of the rest of my life...

• I am going to be organized, put together and know where everything is within 30 seconds of needing it.
• I am going to have a dinner on the table every night that is fully balanced with everything my family's bodies need for their day.
• From now on all of my children's school pictures will be perfect with no need of retakes.
• I am going to be caught up with laundry, grocery shopping and scrapbooks.
• I will have all events from the smallest practice to the largest show choir competition plugged into the family calendar AND read the minds of all of the family members who have forgotten to add their events on every given day.
• I will have children ready every week for their piano lessons each week.
• Every child will be properly trained to come home from school and do their chores without being told.
• I will be ready every time there is a charity event with things to donate with a happy heart.
• I will magically be able to help my children who over commit themselves to be two places at once because I have honed that art to perfection.
• I will read, delete and send each email in a timely manner.

Yeah, right! I have had some time off to live life and get back to "normal" I don't think that "normal" has quite been obtained, but I know that we are moving in the right direction. I certainly won't be doing all of the points above because I wasn't doing that before I got sick, but it was fun to think about it and laugh at how some days I actually think that perfection is obtainable. I set myself up with expectations that are way too high and truth be told...life is too short!

Another reminder came today when I read the news that Nancy Zieman had passed away after her battle with breast/bone cancer the last couple of years. I cried. She was an amazing woman who did so many great things inspiring some fun projects through the years. Just on the way home from our trip to Door County for our anniversary in August, we got to stop in to Nancy's Notions in Beaver Dam, WI to purchase a few goodies on my list.

I don't know how many hours I have watched of her show and videos that have helped me to learn a technique or two. I will always be grateful for her full proof way to make alterations to patterns in order to make custom clothing that fits mine and my daughters' bodies. I just made two of her patterns for my nieces graduation last May. You can read more about her here in her obituary or if you are interested in her life, you can find her autobiography here. She also left a touching goodbye in her last blog post in September.

I will always smile when I think of my son Ryan walking into the living room while I was watching an episode of "Sewing With Nancy" and say "Hmm, looks like you are watching Sewing With Nancy." (When I sit down to catch up on my DVR'd episodes it is Mom's time for the tv!) He would then proceed to sit down on the couch and try to watch with me. After about five minutes and a couple of comments "looks fun", or "you think you are going to make that?", he would get up and go find something else to do. He tried. If you want to talk about a woman who was focused and driven as a business woman with an incredible creative impact, her story is a good one.

A life well lived. Not perfection, just lived well, no matter how long you have on this earth.