Live for Today

I spend this past Labor Day Weekend at the Ocean City beach with my parents and my mother in law visiting from Colombia. We had a blast, enjoyed amazing weather and I took a ton of pictures to remember the weekend. This picture is my favorite memory of the weekend. My husband, Efrain, decided to lay in the sand and Elena just laid down right next to him! It was such a simple act but so touching to see her emulate her daddy! To just see her look at him it made that moment seem like a lifetime. My mind of course immediately turned to what I would be inspired to write about this week. Watching Elena get lost in that 30 seconds of sandy bliss, I found my title, Live for Today.

Too many people (myself included) want more in their life. We get caught up the "American Way", " wanting a bigger house, a better car, more clothes, more money, our idea of a better life. But when we take the time to look at what we have today in our life, that is when we should count our blessings and know that God has given us today and we should not waste it thinking about tomorrow. Life is not about what we have, rather what we do, what we give, what we have done. I want to look back on my life and know that I made a difference in this world, whether that simply means being the best mom that I can be, the best wife that I can be or perhaps my life will touch someone else and inspire them to do the same, I want to look back and know that I lived a life that mattered!

I recently applied for a part time job at the MAC Harbor East to work in the Kids Club. I am very excited about the opportunity to work for the MAC and I look forward to being working with the infants and toddlers for a few hours a week. I attended a "Communications Seminar" yesterday evening and I wanted to share one aspect of the seminar that I thought fits perfectly with this weeks inspiration. We were asked to read an article about the new president of the IHRSA, International Health, Racquet and Sports Club Association. The article poses questions about if you can name 10 people who have won the Noble Peace Prize and then asks if you can name 3 friends who helped you through a difficult time? The moral being " The people who make a difference aren't the ones with the most credentials, the most money or the most awards- they're the ones who care."

If we focus to much on trying to impress others with money and material things, we forget how to simply impress others with our compassion and love for life. I left the seminar last night and I was so energized that I decided to run! I couldn't stop, I ran for about 50 minutes and came home to the pleasant surprise of my husband asking me to dinner. It was such a fun evening spent just talking and enjoying the moment. That is how I want to live my life. Each day is new and exciting and I don't want to miss out enjoying the now because I am worried about the future. The article from yesterday goes on to read, "It doesn't matter if you have or haven't don a great job in the past. Everything can change for the better today."

I hope that Alex is looking down and he knows that he is the reason that I am changing my outlook on life. I have not felt this humble and alive in many years. I feel so lucky to be where I am in my life. My sadness has brought me more happiness, and that is something I will forever remember as Alex's legacy in my life.

Til next time, enjoy each day,

Katie

The Smallest Gifts

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, that is why we call it the "present"

It is 65 degrees outside today, sunny, cool and just plain amazing. I ran 6 miles this morning and I am convinced I could have run a full marathon. It was the best run that I have had in over 2 years and I feel great! As I was running, I thought about what an incredible gift it is that God gave me this day to enjoy. I thanked God for my health, and for blessing me with this spectacular day. That is when this weeks inspiration came to me...the smallest gifts. Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. A gift does not have to be a physical item that you receive. It can be a hug, an unexpected phone call or in my case today, the warmth of the sun and the refreshing breeze that moved me to run!

I could not help but think about all of the gifts that I have received because of Alex. Each week I talk about the fact that I feel like I have been given an opportunity to really enjoy and live my life again, and each day I am reminded that Alex gave me the strength to look at my life and take advantage of all those opportunities. I don't know what tomorrow will bring and thus I am learning to live each day to it's fullest potential. Yesterday, I took Elena to an art class at Gymboree and she got to make a painted landscape (a masterpiece!!) and a sailboat. Something as simple as painting and drawing was the highlight of my day. Elena is the greatest gift that God has given me and every day I discover more gifts that she continues to give.

One such gift that Alex gave to Efrain and I was the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep organization. Our photographer, Julia Pearson, was an angel that came to us and I only hope that she knows how important it is for us to have the memories of Alex. I look at all the pictures on a daily basis and I smile at the memory of feeling Alex inside me. One of the quotes on the NILMDTS website reads, "No footprint is too small that is can not make an imprint on your soul" That quote is so powerful and could not be more accurate. From the moment we know that Alex was growing inside me, he changed our lives. Efrain and I started to plan for our family, making room in our home, talking to Elena about her new baby brother or sister and giving my belly kisses so that Alex would know from day one how much we loved him. Once we know Alex's fate, our dreams changed but not our love. We still continue to make plans for our family, we still talk to Elena about her baby brother and we still kiss my belly, only now we kiss the pictures of my belly. Alex is with us forever and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep gave us the gift of eternal memories.

Each day now I look forward to the gifts that I will receive. I have already been given the gift of a great run today, but there could be more to come. Large or small, each gift makes me grateful to be alive and gives me hope that Alex is looking down upon me and I can't help but believe that he is responsible for the gifts that I am given. I love you Alex, thank you!

Training for Richmond Half Marathon- 16 Weeks of Motivation

Those of you that know me know that I have always had a passion and love for running. Since having Elena, that passion has been more like a "chore" and my running has been put on hold. I have decided that just because my life is busy and my daughter is my new number 1 does not mean that I should not and will not take time for myself. Running makes me feel alive, whole and let's be honest, will help me loss weight!



With Alex's passing, I immediately turned to wanting to set a goal for myself with running. I researched half marathons for Fall 2009 and Richmond came to me. Why Richmond? I believe in signs, they are everywhere and I believe that they are given to us from our angels above. My nephew Jason, passed away on July 29, 2007, just 2 years ago today. His organs were donated through Donate Life and with his death, he was able to change the lives of 5 people forever. I have since become involved with The Living Legacy Foundation and Donate Life, Maryland. And as fate would have it, The official sponsor of the Richmond Marathon is Donate Life. Did I need another reason? I looked at my calender at November 14, the day of the Half Marathon and it was exactly 16 weeks of training. Sixteen? My reoccurring theme, "sweet sixteen"...Alex sent me this sign to tell me to "Go For It Mom!". With that, I called my sister Kim and she did not hesitate, we signed up and my training begins!



Those of you that know me also know my other passion is my gift of gab! I love to write, I love to read and I love to talk! I decided that my blog will be healing through words. I hope to inspire myself, inspire others and honor Alex through my thoughts. I have so much to say and I have so much to share with others. I want everyone, including myself, to count your blessings and be motivated to live a life that matters. So...I plan to blog throughout my 16 weeks of training (and hopefully beyond). Each week will represent a new inspiring topic, one that will motivate me to run and one that will give me meaning to wake up each day and know that my Alex is still here with me, teaching me to live my life to the fullest.