On...

A friend of mine recently asked me why I was smiling. My response: "No reason. It's just kinda my natural state." And, it is. My mom has said that I was born with a smile. I am not sure that is physiologically possible, but you get the point. I have always been a pretty happy person. This can be irritating as hell if you aren't a happy person, or it can be infectious. I prefer to think that I spread happiness, but I also know I can't get it right for everyone, all the time. I'm okay with that. There is a myth with happy people, though - just because I'm happy most of the time, doesn't  mean that I never get sad, or angry, or hurt. I feel all those feelings, and express them - sometimes all within the same day. Sometimes, all within the same 10 minutes. Negative emotion can oftentimes feel like a huge and fierce thunderstorm. Fortunately for me, those dark clouds pass by quickly and I am soon back to my natural state of happy. I let them go as qui

This past weekend, I did something: I read, from beginning to end, all of the Caring Bridge Posts (days, weeks, months, post-accident) from my mom and all of the comments and well-wishes from so many of you. I read these once before, but I was still early in my recovery, so I'm not sure it totally sank in. This time was different. This time, I felt as if I was with all of you awaiting my mom's next post. It felt less like this was something that I had actually lived through and experienced myself. Instead, this time, I lived through it from your perspective. I'll admit, it was a little surreal. That was some pretty heavy stuff. Whew! Here is what struck me most prominently when reading these posts and comments: My mom is absolutely amazing. If you ever question where I get my strength, determination, and ability to love, look no further than my mom.  The rest of my family is pretty darn amazing too. They never faltered in their love and support. They stayed by my s

I believe that people come into our lives for a reason. A person may come and go quickly, or may travel with us for a lifetime. It doesn't matter. Each person is significant in unique ways. Life is short (trust me, I got this hint in a big way) and we don't always share the positive things that we think of others because we take for granted that there is always another day. So, in that spirit, I decided to start a kindness campaign. For this past month of March, each day, I chose a new person to send five things that I like about him/her. For the recipients of my five things, I have challenged them to spend one week doing the same - to choose a new person each day and send him/her five things they like about him/her. Small things or large, it doesn't matter. My intentions are not all selfless. It is true that I wanted to make people feel good by allowing them to know what I like about them. And, I also did it so that I would feel good. I feel amazing when I make othe