It is that time of year when we often not only reflect on what we are thankful for but the year behind us. I am fortunate and thankful for my family, friends, a job that I love, and a roof over my head. Even more importantly, I have come to realize how thankful I am for the experiences that have shaped me. Good and bad. Joyful and tearful. They have all made me who I am today.
Thinking about the previous year, I realized how over and over again I have not been present in my life. The last few years have not been ideal and have too often gotten lost in grief, subsequently missing out on the present. And I thought more about a line from a Kenny Chesney, the title and part of the chorus provides a subtle hint for me to keep in my back pocket. “Save it for a rainy day.” So simple yet powerful. Although intended to talk about a heartbreak, I think it can have a larger purpose.
It is okay to enjoy a moment or an experience without grief coming over you. In the past two years, I have missed too many opportunities to enjoy the present because I was lost in missing my father or over thinking the past. I know it’s okay to cry or be in a funk but it is also okay to “save it for a rainy day.” I remind myself that I don’t have to bring the grief with me everyday. I know my father wouldn’t want me to. And more importantly, when I reflect back a year later, five years later, I don’t want to have more regrets of not being present.
I will continue to honor and cherish my father each and everyday. And I am eternally grateful that I had him to look up to for 28 years. I want to live a life that he would be proud of, not one distracted with grief.
Full lyrics can be found here.
Love for Laces 