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Jaime Lee Mann

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And the X’s mark the days

April 29, 2015 / by JaimeLee / 5 Comments

A glossy sea glass-themed calendar hangs in the dining area of our home.

Since I was young, I’ve admired how the violence of the sea takes those sharp shards of glass and beats them down into soft, smooth treasures.

We watch the months pass by in blues, reds, and greens.

sea glass calendar

Shortly after I hung this calendar on the door, I noticed large X’s were appearing on the days. I figured my daughters were starting the countdown to next Christmas, which seemed a bit unusual. And these big X’s were distracting from the beauty of the images.

sea glass calendar

I asked the girls why they were crossing off the days.

“What do you mean?” (My seven-year-old was clearly confused about why her mother was asking such a dumb question.)

I pointed at the X’s on the calendar and said, “What is it that you’re looking forward to?”

Both of my daughters looked up at me and my nine-year-old said, “Tomorrow!”

April, sea glass calendar

How do you argue with that?

My children teach me something, every single day. I strive to live my life like they do. This is a great example of that.

I now see that those X’s are beautiful. They remind me of how excited we all should be, just to wake up and have another day to look forward to.

Last night, I posted this image on my Twitter feed, Facebook profile, and Instagram account…

light the candles

…with a caption that said: Life is short. Light the candles. Use the good dishes. Eat dessert. We aren’t promised tomorrow. #namaste

I am feeling especially poetic this morning, but this is how I always try to live. Especially now that I’m growing older and wiser and appreciating how incredibly fragile and precious life is.

Why are we saving the good soaps for a special occasion?

Why are grandmother’s linens getting musty in the closet?

Why haven’t we started training for that marathon?

Why aren’t we working on making those dreams come true?

Every day that we meet the sun and the moon, is a day worth celebrating. We aren’t out of tomorrows until we’re out of tomorrows, but that day will come.

So, what are we waiting for?

 

 

Filed Under: Poetic ramblings, Portfolio Tagged With: Jaime Lee Mann

Previous Post: « Pronunciation guide for Elora of Stone
Next Post: Chatting about Into Coraira on Q-93 »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sherry says

    April 29, 2015 at 8:44 am

    Such beautiful thoughts and great advice. After certain events in my life this week, I am learning to be more positive and put the negativity away. Some people wake up every day with bad negative karma and try to spread it…..I am shutting the door to that with my positive karma and the promise of a tomorrow!

    Reply
    • JaimeLee says

      April 29, 2015 at 9:06 am

      Thank you, Sherry. I’m glad you’re able to find positive in the negative. I think that might be the secret to life. xo

      Reply
  2. Melinda says

    April 29, 2015 at 9:24 am

    I have learned over the last couple of years that life can throw you curve balls but trying to find positive in every negative situation helps you get through. Its a struggle but worth it for sure. I love that tomorrow is so exciting for the girls and I’m going to try think of their excitement each time I start a new day. Thanks for sharing

    Reply
    • JaimeLee says

      April 29, 2015 at 9:56 am

      I smile every time I pass the calendar with all those big X’s. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Nova says

    April 29, 2015 at 9:52 am

    What an awesome collection of thoughts! And you know, there aren’t any musty linens in MY closet!

    Reply

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