Appreciate What You Have

I have to say, for all the ups and downs I've experienced in life, I so appreciate them. With each new challenge comes opportunity. Opportunity, to see life differently or form a new perspective, to learn a better way and become more successful at the art of happy living.

I also believe that the more you're aware of having a limited amount of time, the more easily appreciation comes. There are examples of this in so many different scenarios. The obvious one being the knowledge of your own death but also in watching your children grow older, by treasuring a family vacation, savoring a meal, or just cherishing a moment that may happen everyday but suddenly feels like it comes once in a lifetime.

I love our lifestyle because it keeps the "time limit" front-and-center, without any sadness attached to it. Whether our location is amazing or not our style, we know we only have a few months. Whether we have difficulty relating to our co-workers or we make real connections, we only have a few months. It creates an environment where appreciation is central. When life becomes difficult, I work harder at appreciating the details. Then when life improves, it's that much sweeter, having experienced the contrast. As Randy Pausch simply put in The Last Lecture, "Experience is what happened when you didn't get what you want." That "down-time" is the chance to grow and improve. While the "up-time" is the chance to relish in your achievements. Both play equally important roles in the process of life. And certainly, the harder the challenge, the more important and gratifying the lesson.

Our last job was in a college, beach town in North Carolina. It has a quaint, historic downtown with brick-paved roads and horse and buggy. The large southern colonial and plantation style homes line narrow streets that are shaded by nearly three hundred year old oaks.

(The above portion of this post was written in May of 2010 but I never published it.)

I've experienced several things since then but this feeling still rings true in my everyday life. I look back over the past year and see how my perspective and subsequent choices have been influenced by experiencing what I thought I wanted, until I had it, then I realized I didn't want it after all.

Although I couldn't wait to get to North Carolina, as beautiful as it is, I also couldn't wait to leave. The humidity was worse then I remembered and the East coast vibe just doesn't mesh well with me anymore but I still cherish the time we had there. It was fun to walk the beach in the winter while the girls looked for shells. I'll never forget the amazing day we had when my in- laws came to visit. We saw the Aquarium and toured the Battleship but most of all we reconnected and created treasured memories. We also took the girls ice skating for the first time. When I think of our time there I also remember how the girls were really getting into food ...Food Channel, cake decorating, creating gourmet-looking meals and cakes with Play-doh. So when my mom came to visit (several times actually, but one time in particular) we decided to recreate a previous Melting Pot experience - fondue. So we all cut, chopped and prepared breads, veggies, meats, fruits and cakes for dipping. But just as dessert got underway, our youngest said she wasn't feeling well ... within minutes she was running for the bathroom (which she didn't make).  During the next three days we all took turns throwing up and bedridden. My mom's flight home was postponed twice and yet we still all laugh about that trip.

My point is, my experience there told me it's not the place for me and although I'll probably never live in North Carolina again, I'm so glad I went. I savor the memories and appreciate the reconfirmation that I'm meant to live in the West.