Raise Your Glass

                     It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
- Chinese proverb

 

When my extended family went to the beach this summer, we thought a lot about Dad.  He was missed every minute of every day, just like he is all the time.  He would've loved being there with us and we would've loved for him to have been there, too, but, in his honor, we all worked hard to appreciate what we had at that point in time instead of dwelling on what we wished we had. 

At one point on the trip, we clinked our glasses together in tribute to him.  As much as we loved and appreciated him and valued the time that we had with him over the years, I couldn’t remember ever having toasted him while he was alive, and that made me almost as sad as his not being there did.

I vowed to myself that I will not make that mistake again; I will make a point to make a toast to people I love in their presence.  I want to be sure they know that they are important to me, that I value the time I have with them, and that they have made an impact on me.  I want to raise my glass in honor of people, not just in memory of them. 

                                   This is kind of a weird version of this song, but I like it anyway.