Carpe Diem

I learned the lesson that life is horribly short at a very early age, but it seems that each time I am pregnant I am reminded of what a cruel mistress life can be.  Obviously these events have nothing to do with my pregnancy and terrible events happen all the time, but it still makes me reflect a lot.  When I was pregnant with Sam, a fellow animal behavior student died in a car accident. She was young and recently married.  Recently there was the tragedy in Arizona, which is much more poignant being a mother and hearing about the death of a 9 year old.  And yesterday I found out a wonderful man who overlapped during some of my time at Ga Tech passed away.  I did not know him too well, but appreciated his wit and humor through facebook.  And I enjoyed looking at the pictures of his two beautiful daughters, who are 5 and 3, and reading his proud stories about them.  I know that their lives are forever marked by his untimely death and I cannot imagine how his wife can cope with her loss and help such young children through.  It reminds me to be thankful for all my blessings.  To try and not get caught up in the day to day hassles, but really enjoy every second I have with my amazing husband, incredible daughter, and everyone else I am lucky enough to call a friend or loved one.  Nick and I waited a long time to have kids given that there never was a good time.  I am so thankful that we finally decided that it was worth the risk and just hoped things would fall into place.  And things seem to work out in the end, one way or another.  We may not be entirely happy with our current situation, but it does allow great flexibility for me to take a semester to only teach an online course and make more money than I made with 2 in person courses.  Today I am counting my blessings and hoping for many more.  

Go for it now.  The future is promised to no one.  ~Wayne Dyer.


Spend the afternoon.  You can't take it with you.  ~Annie Dillard


Most of us spend our lives as if we had another one in the bank.  ~Ben Irwin


I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it.  I want to have lived the width of it as well.  ~Diane Ackerman


Every day you are alive is a special occasion.  Every minute, every breath, is a gift from God.  ~Mary Manin Morrissey


You don't get to choose how you're going to die.  Or when.  You can only decide how you're going to live.  Now.  ~Joan Baez


For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way.  Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.  Then life would begin.  At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.  ~Fr. Alfred D'Souza