2015's Here and Now {Phase I}

One of the ways in which I have taken my phrase of the year "here and now" is this other phrase "life is too short". I am not too old but loosing Evan has opened my eyes to a world of pain, loss, and uncertainty. I had a VERY nice childhood. I never really went through anything really hard. There wasn't much that I wanted that I didn't get. Life was good and although there was bad in the world none of those bad things could/would ever happen to me. Well, that is long gone. Now I know that bad things happen and they most certainly can happen to me. I'm not immune to life. This knowledge is both good and bad. To be honest I struggle with not spiraling into a constant state of worry but I don't ever want (can) be as naive as I used to. Life is short.

As I said this phrase can go in many directions and I will be sharing them as I discover them. I hope you will join me in this adventure and maybe we'll learn a thing or two in the process. I am going to be open like I never have been (stepping out of my comfort zone is something I suck at and am working on).

I have never worked hard for anything in my life. Maybe NEVER and ANYTHING are strong words but I'm going for the dramatic effect here. If it gets hard, I quit. If it's not instant, I quit. If I have to step too much out of my comfort zone, I quit. I have good excuses for quitting or so I keep telling myself. Well, no more. I am... afraid to type this... I am determined to accomplish at least 1 hard thing this year. Life is too short and I don't want to look back at the end of my life and think of all the excuses I made. Please don't think I am sharing this so I will get nice comments out of you. I am sharing because as much as I hate it I think accountability will be a good thing for me. 

So, first up is getting in shape. I know, I know couldn't be any more cliche but I don't like the extra pounds I carry around. For the last three years I've had legitimate excuses to not do anything about it. I don't have those excuses anymore. I have decided to make time for something that is important, not only for me but for my husband and for my boys. February 9 I am starting a program with shakes and exercise. Doable 30 mins. a day work outs, healthy meals, a shake for breakfast (thank goodness because I struggle with breakfast), an accountability group, improving my lifestyle and the anticipation of seeing great results in just 21 days. I am excited and ready to tackle my first challenge of this year! I know I can do it!

Stay tuned maybe I'll be brave enough to post "before" pictures, insert big maybe here.

I've been pondering...

The other day I saw something on a friend's Facebook page that made me think a lot. She has gone through quite a bit of loss and she posted that she was having one of those days in which you just miss what you've lost. I can totally relate! She also said that when we mourn we tend to paint a picture in our heads about what would have been. Of course, that picture is always better than our reality or at the very least it is a good picture. However there is no way to know that if such and such hadn't/had happened then our life would be better (or as good as we picture it in our dreams).

This is how this reflection applies to me: When I think of Evan I think what he would be like now. I wonder how he would be with his brothers. I imagine our big family of 5 enjoying life all together. I get tired just thinking how crazy it would be to have two toddlers and a baby. I think that I would be able to say that I have 3 under 3. You get the picture. HOWEVER... and this is where my friend's reflection made me think differently... what if life were completely different to what I imagine.

What if Evan had been healthy or healed on this Earth? Maybe our view on having babies wouldn't have changed. Maybe we would have waited longer to have another baby. Maybe Jason wouldn't be here, maybe even Ethan wouldn't be here! 

What if Evan would have lived with the health challenges that we knew he had? We would have spent hours upon hours in the hospital with him. He would have had surgery(ies). We would have been too worried, concerned and busy to even think about getting pregnant again. Maybe that experience would have made us too afraid to even have more kids. We would be missing out on our Ethan and Jason!!! 

My heart breaks when I think of that. Granted we wouldn't know what we would be missing but now that we know the thought of it is almost unbearable! Nothing says that if Evan had lived our life would be exactly as it is + him. Maybe our story would be completely different. 

Now, this doesn't make me miss my baby any less but it does make me want to enjoy my boys a lot more. It makes me want to cherish the good times and work through the hard ones. It makes me want to live life here and now. It makes me want to create memories every chance I get. It makes me proud, happy, and thankful that I have my Evan in Heaven and my Ethan and Jason in my arms.

I won't say that I wouldn't change a thing because, if I had a choice, I would choose to have all 3 right here with me. That is just the honest truth, but knowing what I know now I can accept and intentionally enjoy the life I do have!