Tick...Tick...Tick...

Barney: “I was sitting at home last night and I had a Piphany!”
Ted: “Actually it’s E-piphany.”
Barney: “No Ted, this is THE piphany.”                                                                                                    

How I Met Your Mother

While I generally have very little in common with Neil Patrick Harris’ character, Barney Stinson, (despite his affinity for “suiting up,” of course) he is by far my favorite character and I found him extremely relatable in the recent episode titled, “Now We're Even."

In an attempt to distract himself from missing his stripper girlfriend, Barney had “the piphany” that he wanted to make every night legendary.  He brainstormed ideas including, “The Night We Brought a Horse into the Bar,”  “The Night We Started a Mariachi Band,” and, “The Night We Ate Everything on the Menu.”  And while our motives are different, I too find myself trying to make every morning, noon, and night memorable – not for the purposes of distracting, but for the purpose of embracing.   

I’ve been to four funerals in 10 months: once to honor a classmate I’d known since preschool who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan, once to remember a man who, despite having no biological connection, was an incredible father to my best friend and her two sisters, and most recently, twice to say goodbye to both of my grandmothers who went to be with their Savior within three months of each other… four reminders in less than a year of how fragile and fleeting our time on Earth truly is. 

As I ever-so-quickly approach my 30s, I find myself in constant self-evaluation mode, trying to find ways that I can improve myself as a wife, a mother, a colleague and employee, and as a friend, and while there is no question that I make mistakes all…the… time, I can honestly say that trying to live life to the fullest is something I do very well.  That, however, has not always been the case.

In college in particular, I was really quick to jump on professional opportunities, but was guilty of pushing personal opportunities (ie- relationships) to the side.  I wouldn’t say that I didn’t value people, because of course I did.  But sadly, it’s probably true that I took a lot of people for granted.  I assumed they’d always be around, assumed they’d be willing to talk or hang out whenever it was convenient, assumed they’d be my forever friends.  I passed up countless opportunities to go to movies, to dinner, to Baylor-sponsored events, or just to hang out because I was so focused on studying and doing well in school that I pushed people aside and ultimately away.  And while I’m not at all advocating partying and blowing off class, I do wish I had spent more time establishing relationships with people who genuinely cared about me than trying to establish myself professionally.  Honestly, looking back, I can say that I was extremely, albeit unintentionally, selfish.  It took me a few years (and a few severed friendships) to realize this ever-important lesson…

People are more important than professions… period.

Because the simple truth is, cars can crash, loved ones can die, best friends can move away, and all we’re left with are the memories we made before these life-changing events.

I’m sure many will disagree, but I really don’t consider this outlook pessimistic, but rather see it as exciting, as a challenge of sorts, to live life to its fullest, because despite all of the clichés, we can’t find, make, or borrow time.  No, my friends, it can only be seized, captured, embraced.  So whether it’s doing something as magical as taking your children to Disneyworld, or as monumental as saying “I love you,” for the first time, or as seemingly mundane as catching up over coffee, every single second possesses the potential to become a moment we’ll remember for a lifetime. 

I’m sure I’ll make a lot of mistakes in what I hope are the next SEVERAL decades of my life, but I am certain that when I lay on my deathbed, I’d rather think about things I probably shouldn’t have done, than think of all the things I wish I had. 

 Have fun.  Jump on opportunities.   Make an unlikely friend.   Find a hobby.   Enjoy your children (even when they drive you nuts).  Make a bucket list; check items off as often a you can.  Never take anyone or anything for-granted.  Laugh, love, LIVE while you can. 

Tick…tick…tick… Time is running out – let’s make this life legendary.