Staying Awake to Life

My word this year is more active than last year's. Last year I chose Still. This year I choose AWAKE!

I want to stay awake to the moments. I want to wake up and not just dream dreams but take steps to make them reality.

So far so good this year....

I have dreamed of enrolling my oldest daughter in ballet classes since she was about two years old. She is turning eight this week and she and her sister will attend their fourth ballet class.

From the age of five, I have loved reading. I read voraciously through my childhood and when I stopped to take a breath, around the age of twelve, I realized I was also a writer. For years I have dreamed of writing a book. In 2007 I started one. I began to tell a story about a man who experienced heartbreaking loss and  unconventionally learned to love again. That man is my late grandfather. I write in fits and starts, around other dreams, goals and responsibilities. Last summer I was on a roll. This year I dove back in, and finally chose a title, after 4.5 years and many working titles. I emailed a NY Times best-selling memoir author and teacher. I got serious about telling this story.

This year, I want to learn to stay awake to life: to invest in what will help us grow; to continue to capture the moments and the beauty all around; to say YES to life!