Femininity Friday: What If...Today Were Your Last Day on Earth?

First: No, I'm not planning to "leave" any time soon. Now that that's out of the way...

I drove past a church earlier this week that had a magnetic sign on the grass that read: "What would you do if today were your last day on earth?" At first, I was relieved that they weren't advertising their usual bad news about life in our neighborhood, but then the sign made me reflect on how my days have been lately...

• Trying to finish a rewrite of a book
• Writing a new curriculum
• Gardening
• Summer cleaning the house (things that are too heavy for me alone)
  
• Helping DH to finish a project
• Worrying about something over which I have no control (the Governator and his IOUs)
• Feeling stress about roofers
  

In sum, other than swimming, swimming, swimming (our new condo management is only having the pool open for three months a year, so we're making the most of it), frankly, I've been a bit of a grind and a grunt.

Then I saw that sign. By all rights, I shouldn't have paid much attention to it, but somehow, the question stuck in my mind. I wondered what my elder children would tell my younger children. "Yeah, there was a time when she was more fun, not as grouchy. She had time to run in the sprinklers, time to fingerpaint, time to play her guitar and sing to us..."

What could be more important than spending time with my family?

So today (or technically, yesterday, since it's 1:16 a.m. on Saturday), I had fun with my husband and children all day and had a fish fry with family and friends tonight. And sitting here--exhausted--I'm thinking, "It wouldn't be so bad if today were my last day. I'd be remembered as the fun, feminine, and fascinating woman I always long to be." Yes, the house was still cleaned and the laundry done. However, an important part of being a Fascinating Woman (in progress still after over thirty years) is leading a balanced life that reflects a certain set of values: God first, husband second, children next, then self, then everyone else. The "Angelic" side of life is important--the world would fall apart without it, but we need to remember to be "Human," too.

Agape always,
Cynthia