1. This weekend should be a long weekend for most, including me. With that being said, thank you to all our veterans and those who currently serve.
I don't always think about the true meaning behind memorial day because its become all about the beginning of beach season and sales, so this weekend I'm making the effort to appreciate what the day really stands for, honoring and remembering the people who died serving our country, preserving our freedom. They've made the ultimate sacrifice and are true heroes.
I always try to thank people who have served or family members who lost a loved one who has served or is currently serving; although, I always feel awkward saying it. A few weekends ago my outlook about it changed. I finally realized how much a simple acknowledgement means to these guys. I was at a bridal shower, it was the day before mother's day and a woman was telling me her son was overseas and all she wanted for mother's day was a call from him. I thanked the woman for her son's service and then wished her a happy mother's day and gave her a hug and told her it was for her son in case he couldn't call. She was near tears (and honestly so was I!). The simple little moment meant so much to her, and to me. I'm not going to lie and say I'm totally converted, I'll still feel awkward saying thank you but knowing what a difference those two words make to someone's day will be my reminder how important it is to say it.
2. Monday I came into work and saw this:
It was the cutest site to see and definitely made Monday a bit more bearable.
3. Saturday night Dave and I were out running errands and on our way to dinner we came upon an accident that had literally just occurred a few seconds beforehand (the woman we helped actually passed us a few moments before that). We exited the off ramp and saw a smoking car down the embankment to the left of us, broken pieces of car strewn about the road, and a parked tractor trailer with the front end of the smoking car still hanging on to its rear.
Dave and I pulled over and as we ran up to help the woman in the car, I called 911 and Dave helped the woman get out of her car, who was in a bit of a panic. I won't go into details about all the blood and gore, it wasn't terrible, but it was enough for the weak stomached. We stayed and I chatted with the woman to help her relax her nerves until the police and EMT could arrive. It felt really good to be able to help someone out, and its amazing what instincts kick in when you need them the most. This pic was taken as we walked away from the scene:
4. Pitch Perfect is one of my favorite movies. I love watching it over and over so when I heard Anna Kendrick was doing a remake of "When I'm Gone", the song she auditioned with in the movie, I was super excited. I heard it twice on the way home Thursday on the radio and it was such a treat. My cousin Jaime and her best friend have the whole cup sequence down pat, something I'll never be coordinated enough to do. Here is the video, which is awesome, you really need to check it out, I don't want to give anything away but people are pretty darn creative, if you ask me. If you want to get right to the song, jump to 1:10:
Feel free to put it on repeat, I have!
5. I read this amazing article this week, and my God does it speak volumes. I'm totally guilty of this: being bored or lonely one day and scrolling through Facebook and having a mini meltdown over someone's seemingly perfect life compared to my own. In fact, last year I was going through a rough time and I had to walk away from Facebook for about two weeks because it was messing with my mood and mind so bad. Life is not perfect, and most people are only going to post the good things in life, I'm guilty of that. In fact, I'm guilty of being on both sides of the fence.
Like Shauna states, "Let's stop comparing". I think we'd all be a lot happier if we stopped pursing perfection and started seeing what we've been blessed with from the start.
Can I get an Amen?
Ha ha, enjoy your weekend, and once again Happy Memorial Day!