At the end of the day

At the end of the day, it's over.

This morning I was preparing for what I knew was going to be a crazy-busy day.  And I was mostly dreading it.  I felt like there was way too much to do and way too little time to do it in.  As I was doing my hair and make-up I was already dreaming of what it would be like to be back home, curled up under my Snuggie, reading or playing on the internet.  I couldn't wait till the end of the day, for the day to be over.

And then suddenly that thought running through my head took on a whole new meaning.  At the end of the day, the day is over.  Done.  No going back.  Only forward from here.

How many days have I wished away?
How many days have I wished to have back?

It was more than a bit of a wake-up call, and before I'd even had my coffee!

Live each moment.  Even the bad ones.  Or the stressful ones.  Or the annoying, frustrating ones.  The moments  - even the ones where I drop my mascara wand into the litter box - are life.  And I don't want to miss any of them.

Especially since I seem to be one of those people who just have really random things happen to them on a regular basis... like the time I got out of my car in the parking lot at work to find a driverless SUV rolling straight past me.

Or the time that my Mom was catching mice with a live trap and one of them got its tail caught as it was flipped into the box.  We - Mom, Dad, and I went to spring it loose and the mouse, making the most of the opportunity, took a flying leap out of the box - straight at me.  Being startled, I caught the mouse, who promptly bit me, causing me to fling it into the air.  It nicely flew right over my Dad's shoulder, and hitting the ground, it took off running.  Eventually we did catch the traumatized mouse and the poor thing was released into the wild.

And I don't want to take those experiences for granted.  I am blessed by them, because they still make me laugh when they cross my mind.

"The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone and we fly away. ... So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."  ~Psalm 90:10, 12

I am realizing more and more the meaning of those verses.  Learning to number each day, rather than wishing for the next moment.