Long Hollow

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

~ Opray Winfrey

I turned 50 almost two years ago, along with all of the people I went to school with. We spent a fabulous year celebrating one birthday after another, each time celebrating all of us jumping into this next half century. 

My birthday party, courtesy of wonderful friends, was, I believe, the best birthday party I'd every had in my life. (I've already written about it so I'll spare you the details again, but click HERE if you're interested and missed it the first time. I'll warn you … it involved cage dancing!)

The tinsel in the photo above is from that party – a friend decorated water bottles with it, and this piece has been wrapped around my little wine rack ever since, a reminder not only of my wonderful friends, but that life itself is a reason to celebrate each and every day.

If you woke up breathing, congratulations!  You have another chance.

 ~ Andrea Boydston

Earlier this month we celebrated the life of a dear friend in a different way – not the way we'd prefer, but the wake and funeral service for our friend Carl was a celebration, nonetheless. A celebration of his inspirational, infectious spirit … a spirit that I suspect celebrated life every single day.

"Fly free and happy beyond birthdays and across forever, 

 and we'll meet now and then when we wish,

in the midst of the one celebration that never can end."

~ Richard Bach

At the service, another friend of his offered tokens to everyone, reminders of Carl. She had asked his kids to come up with words that described their dad, or tell her things he often said. She then burnished pieces of bamboo and somehow printed the words on the pieces.

Tom pulled one that said "Superman". He carries it in his pocket every day now. I think that's a form of celebration, don't you?

(I ended up with these four. There are words on both sides. Tom says I was greedy, but all jokes aside, I was there a long time, and each time I closed my eyes and pulled another token from the basket, I felt a connection to Carl. I'll eventually give two of the pieces to my two kids who couldn't be there.)

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is to celebrate."

~ Opray Winfrey

Friday night we helped celebrate with friends their 20th wedding anniversary. It was a surprise celebration, the idea of their oldest daughter, who was five at the wedding.

What a testament to their love and marriage that she saw reason to be sure they celebrated it in style! Like any marriage, theirs has had some ups and downs; we were happy to help them celebrate!

Above, a surprised Conni with her thoughtful, sneaky daughter…

Below, Conni and Larry, twenty years ago… (isn't this a sweet idea, hanging the wedding photos from a tree along with glass hearts?)

"Conni and Larry go together like peas and carrots" That was the theme of the party. Somehow our friend Mary Kay found candy peas and carrots and bagged them up as favors. So cute!

So what have you celebrated lately? (I hope it was this day!)

Remember, you need to…

"Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think."

~ Chinese proverb

This is my contribution to the latest Focus 52 project hosted by Jan at twoscoopz. Yesterday was her birthday, so she has been celebrating all week! Click HERE to see the other contributions!