Archive | Life RSS feed for this section

WT Honesty (in Parenting)

27 Apr

IMG_5722

As parents, how often do we speak the truth about what goes on in our heads and behind closed doors.  Some live in towns where they don’t want to be labeled or judged by others so they keep the intimate details and personal thoughts all to themselves.  Me…. I’m an open book and although I do agree that my kids deserve the right to tell their own stories, until they are able, I will continue to be the mouthpiece sharing my (our) lives with the world.

In the essence of sharing, I thought it would be entertaining to highlight some of what I have personally been feeling this week about my awesome and not-so-awesome parenting moments.

On Monday, I wrote (posted on FB) about the kids off of school this week and how we should all try to take a moment and reset/enjoy some of the time with them rather than give into the stress of what it means to entertain or shuttle or occupy their time for the week – especially for those of us in our normal elements and not away on vacation.  In reflecting back on my life as a full-time working commuting mom, I realized or should I say I self-admitted that life was easier then during weeks like this one where I was working and not taking off.  I didn’t have to organize, plan and entertain.  I went to work and had an amazing nanny to do the dirty work.  In this realization, I also came to terms with the flip sides of that previous life.  Being a full-time, entrepreneur that works from home, life during a vacation week presents a whole new set of challenges.  Similar to the full-time, stay at home mom which is also a very difficult job, we have to balance these vacation days with work and responsibilities while trying to balance the kids’ schedules and the shuttling service.  I kept thinking, how the hell am I going to get any work done during the day?!?  And I felt tons of guilt for even feeling this way.

As I consider myself to be a master of time management, I still felt the pull of my kids wanting mommy time but knowing full well that mommy time means not mommy holding a cell phone, sitting at her laptop or with her head in her work.  So in putting my own challenge out to world on Monday, here’s where I am at 5 days into vacation.

I’ve accomplished and tried to squeeze a Life Lesson (LL) into each one:

  • Being fun mommy at least once a day for at least and hour or two.  LL: I’ve actually had a really fun time doing it.
  • Feeding kids cupcakes for breakfast (sorry Rabbi). LL: Even mommies crave sweet treats for breakfast but it feels better to start the day with a healthy choice.  The next day we had protein (Eggs and Bacon – sorry again Rabbi) for breakfast.
  • Playing dodgeball chasing them around the house. LL: Don’t shoot at the face. Don’t mess with a Navy Seal. They always win.
  • Giving in to dying their hair pink and purple (occupied about two – three hours and they were so excited the entire time that no energy or entertainment was needed on my part.  LL: hair color is temporary and can always wash out.  I told them both…. Don’t do anything to your hair or body that you can’t reverse – this is due to the fear my little one will want a real tattoo sooner than later.
  • Movie (Superhero) marathon all week long.  LL: Talked about how awesome girl superheroes are like Black Widow who can kick anyone’s ass. (I did use child appropriate language while explaining)

During vacation week, it’s ok to:

  • Feel the stress of the week and dread it
  • Still make time for yourself and your workout or manicure or whatever it is you do for yourself
  • Crave a cocktail before noon even if you’re not on a beach
  • Dump your kids on someone else for a few hours
  • Over-schedule them at back to back workshops or Unlimited Sports and then Parisi and then a play date
  • Hide:  I’m not really working, I’m in the basement avoiding you and your sister and your bickering about absolutely nothing

Here are a few things I’ve accepted this week:

  1. I’m a better mom after a workout.
  2. I’m more fun after two glasses of wine – this goes for non-vacation days as well.
  3. I could have handled many moments differently this week but we only have so much patience (I tend to think I have much less than most people).  I do make sure to apologize after I yell and explain how we both could have handled the situation differently.
  4. My kids are 6 and 8 and I need to accept that they don’t appreciate half the shit I do for them now but only hope they’ll appreciate it later in life.
  5. My kids like me a lot better when i’m a silly, goofy, funny, cool, non-mommy life figure.  Sorry kids, at the end of the day, I’m still your mother.

IMG_5700In a nutshell, being home during a vacation week is f’in hard and it’s ok to ride the rollercoaster of good mom, fun mom, mean mom, crazy mom, buzzed mom, happy mom and exhausted mom.   That’s what it’s all about, right?  We had kids so they could torture us like we tortured our parents but at the end of the day, those cute little animals make life a lot more fun and exciting and help us appreciate the little (and big) things in life that make us truly happy.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation week.

WTHayley

Tags: , , , , ,

WT Life is good

16 Jan

imgres

It’s 12:20am and I’m torn between writing a post or going to bed so I can get up at 5:30, do an Insanity DVD so I can be done by 6:30 when my girls will wake up and stroll into my room for morning snuggle time before I become the 7:15 drill sergeant barking orders like ‘time to get dressed’, ‘eat your breakfast’, ‘brush your teeth’, ‘pick your snack’, ‘we have to get mommy to the train on time’, etc.  Clearly, the writing has taken precedence.  I am sure to regret it in the morning.

 

Tonight I attended an amazing event called ‘Making Moms Social’ by Mom Time Events.  An inspiring group of women got up in front of an audience of about 50 Momprenuers that live in town and talked about how to make our businesses more social.  The entire room was engaged and enlightened.  Not just by the speakers but by looking around the room at so many women that are passionate about business and about what they do.

 

Having just attended the National Retail Federation show at the Javitz for the past four days, I’m in what I refer to as a business high.  Taking time out of the office is never easy for a business owner but being surrounded by like-minded people, learning from my peers and making new contacts refreshes my brain and serves as a reset button.  I listened to some major success stories of start-up companies talking about getting their businesses off the ground and the obstacles they faced.  I wanted to share a few of the highlights that don’t just apply to retail or business but to our day to day lives as well.

 

Bert Jacobs, the founder of Life is Good  was by far the best speaker at the show.  He engaged the audience like no other.  Aside from his good looks and charisma, he believes in Superpowers – like fun, compassion, autheticity, courage and optimism – all key principles that his company is based upon and he lives by each day.  He’s met people along the way that have problems and have shared their stories with him.  He shared this story with us and I encourage you to view it.

With is success, his company began to get fan mail and he shard a letter that he received from 10 year old twin boys, born weighing only a pound and having to struggle their whole lives. One born blind and the other living with only one leg, they wrote to Bert and shared their story about their love for one another and the connection they feel to his brand.  Bert told us that at his company, he’s incorporated a new philosophy called “GET TO”.  Instead of going about your life saying ‘you have to’ do this or that, think of the people that may have to do their laundry or go shopping with only one leg or with no sight.  So next time you say ‘I have to’ go to the market, maybe you should be saying ‘I get to’ go to the market today and remember that there is someone out there that has it a lot worse off than you”.

Other great takeaways from Bert were:
– Focus on what’s right with the world to overcome what’s wrong with the world.

– Be Optimistic. As a startup, sometimes the bottom will fall out and you’ll be left with a situation that could put you over the edge.  Instead of focusing on the negative, pick it up and keep on going.

– Be Authentic – If you’re not, your customers will see right through you and tear you down. With Socia, your customers are now the co-authors of the stories that build your brand.

– Have Fun – try to blur the line between work and play.  If you can’t have fun and enjoy the ride, people won’t want to work for or with you.

– Be Courageous – pioneer new things and go places that might feel uncomfortable.  Remember when situations get you down or you feel like you have a disaster on your hands, what doesn’t break you only makes you stronger and wiser.  You will make mistakes and you will fail but take the lesson and use it to make your business or yourself better.

At the end of the day, what’s truly important is…. Do what you like and like what you do – it will mean the world to your customers, your staff, your friends and your family.

WTHayley

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

WT New Yawk

25 Jun
 
This is a picture that my 5 year old made for me upon my return home from a weekend away.  The spelling was completely atrocious and the only thing spelled correctly was “I love you”.  🙂
 
600669_10151997618743266_881725121_n
 

She’s in Kindergarten so I’m ok with it but there are times where I just feel bad that it’s not easier for her.  In retrospect, the way she spells things is hilarious because it’s exactly as she hears herself saying it, which makes me wonder, WHERE DO ACCENTS COME FROM?

What is it that causes people to say things differently?  Why do some people from the South Shaw of Looong Eyeland have deeper accents than the people on the Nawth Shaw?  Location Location Location.  We are products of our environments.

Being that I was born and raised on Long Island, the south shaw no less, you would think that I would have a strong accent.  Howeva, when people axe me where I’m from and I tell them, they always say to me ‘How come you don’t have an accent?’    My response is that my mum is British so I was raised to speak part proper and part Brooklynese (my dads side).  When I say ‘proper’, please don’t confuse that with appropriate.  If you’ve ever met my mother, you know that there was no shortage of curse words that come out of her mouth.  They just sound better when pronounced with an English accent.  Bloody Hell and Fuck Off were never in short supply around my house while growing up (and currently)…. in case anyone was wondering where I get it from…. thanks momma.

Back to New Yawkers.  Being one myself, albeit one without an accent, I find it hard to deal with people on a business level that sound like they work for the mafia.  Do some people enhance it to sound tough?  Do women exaggerate it to sound more… ummm…. jewish?  Oh my gawd?

I was standing behind a well dressed man in line the other day (looked like a lawyer) at Birch (hands down best coffee in NYC) while placing his order for Cawfy, no shugah.  Followed by ‘lemme get dat deir bagel with buttah’.  (I’m sooo not kidding or exaggerating)  Not that the Boston or the southern accent is that much better but New Yawkers get the worst wrap of all – and if you ask me, for good reason.  It’s not hot, it’s not sexy. Sometimes we just sound like a bunch of morons – no offense to Joey Tribbiani from friends. *Note that I said ‘we’ as not to offend anyone(not that some of you even realize you sound like that).

With a little shout out to the other side of the pond…. we should all make a little more effort to speak more eloquently when speaking to our children(maybe they will learn to spell correctly at a younger age) as well as when conducting ourselves in a business environment.   And for those that just don’t give a shit what you sound like… you might as well pick yourself up some of this really cute line of Brooklynese ceramics at Fishs Eddy.

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

WT Whadda-ya-call-it

4 Apr

Left-or-Right-Brain-Marketer

I cracked myself up this morning wondering if from here on out, am I going to start talking about my age as if i’m over the hill? (Hell No) When I first wrote this post, I couldn’t help but think “Is it weird that my first post in my 40’s is going to be about the fact that I’m losing my memory (or my mind, not sure which yet)?” Then again, the memory loss could have been due to brain cells that I killed in my week long Birthday tare.

While I consider myself too young to be suffering mild memory loss, I saw a FB post this morning from someone who said ‘I figured that if I stay in the Supermarket long enough, I’ll remember what I came here for’. I had to laugh, especially since I’m pretty sure she’s a few years younger than I am. I do this all the time. Not only do I often find myself running back to the produce section at least two times in one visit, but there are times I find myself returning to the market a second and third time in one day. Other times, I get home and as soon as I’ve put the groceries away, I’m starting a new list of all the things that I forgot to get.

When I tell my 70 year old mother these stories, it makes her feel better that it she’s not the only forgetful one in the family. I told her she’d better watch it or I’ll forget what old age home I check her into – you know I’m kidding momma, I’d make sure to write it down somewhere. (wink wink)

I specifically remember times when my dad would struggle to remember something and he’d say ‘Where’s the whadda-ya-call-it?’ (My mom and brother are totally laughing right now). I did a little research for you that will provide a few tips of salvaging your memory and enhancing your brain function. I also read most of Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer and then I forgot where I put it. I’m kidding. I’m pretty sure the second version of 50 Shades was published while I was in the middle of it and well… you know how that goes.

I did some research and unearthed a few foods that help with cognitive decline, increase focus and enhance clarity:
–Walnuts – high in Alpha Linolenic Acid – promotes blood flow, delivering more oxygen to the brain.  Other nuts that are high in Vitamin E have been known to help cognitive decline (hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, flax (buy raw and not roasted/salted or flavored to get the most out of your nuts)
— Salmon and other fatty fish – high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA – have been linked to lower risk of dementia, better focus and improved memory.
— Coffee – (love this one – my excuse to keep on drinking it) – Caffeine has been shown to improve mental acuity keeping you more alert, antioxidants help maintain brain health and some research says it helps with depression in women.
— Berries – Blue/Staw/Acai – Any berries will do.  These are the highest in antioxidants, and when merged with free radicals that are ever present in our bodies, they render them harmless.  Just eat them.  They are good and good for you.  Buy organic – less pesticides.
— Dark Chocolate (another favorite) – filled with incredibly powerful antioxidants and natural stimulants which help produce endorphins, which help improve your mood.  So, while good for your brain(in moderation – no more than 1 oz a day), also good for your libido.  Wow, who knew.  Actually, I knew but I’ve been holding out on you.  Every now and then you’ll see me pop a Dark Chocolate Lindt Truffle into my mouth.

Please keep in mind that eating an entire bag of walnuts before an exam or big presentation isn’t going to suffice.  You need to maintain a healthy diet – 4-6 small meals a day, plenty of greens, fruits and foods that are whole/real and full of nutrients.  Oh, and don’t forget to hydrate.  Having to get up multiple times to go to the bathroom a day helps blood flow too.

The BEST trick I learned from Moonwalking with Einstein:
Name Association – how many times do you meet someone and forget their name?  Most likely, 9 out of 10 – and that’s me being nice.  Next time you meet someone and want to remember their name, repeat it back to them and as you’re saying it (Mary, so nice to meet you), try to associate it with something familiar to you or something funny (Scary Mary is so Hairy).  Or, do they have the same name or one that rhymes with a relative (Nick, he looks like Uncle Dick.  Or Andy reminds me of Sandy who loves to eat Candy)?  You can also link it to a favorite food/state/restaurant/etc. (Melanie/Melon).  Just make sure you don’t say these things out loud or you’ll look like moron, which pretty much defeats the purpose.

I forgot what I was going to end with so…..

WTHayley

(P.S. – I chose the image for this post showing left brain and right brain because I can never remember which one I am – clearly a weird combo of both, but mostly left.  Don’t judge me by my blogging creativity skills.  I might be fun, free and can play the bass clarinet, but I make a mean ass excel chart and my math skills are exeptional.)

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

WT Happy Anniversary

25 Mar

Screen Shot 2013-03-24 at 11.20.07 PM

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started this silly blog on a whim.  Who would have thought that a year later I’d still be going at it.  Whether I’m toting a tutu, getting down and dirty in the mud or just venting about the man that misses the bowl (the bathroom at the office has been much cleaner as of late), I’m extremely thankful for those of you that continue to follow me and especially thankful for those that send me comments.  I love the feedback and commentary so please keep it coming.

What’s in store for the future of WTHayley?  Who the hell knows… but then again, that’s probably what people like most – you never know what you’re going to get.  What I can tell you is this… I’ve got lots of good stories and while some people are very thankful that theirs have not been posted for the (social) world to see, I’ll try to keep you entertained moving forward.  While my posts about health and wellness are fun, the sex and love bits seem to be my most popular and usually my favorite (although my mother doesn’t always approve… and the posts on this blog are actually somewhat appropriate).

To keep this short and sweet (I’m exhausted and want to go to bed), THANK YOU for following and stay tuned for more to come.

WTHayley

WT Hangover

19 Mar

images

(Please note that this was written on January 1, 2013 and I guess I was too hungover to remember to post)  Enjoy.

For starters, THANK YOU to my followers that have been reading, commenting and following my blog for the last 10 months.  I love writing and there is nothing more motivating that having people send me emails or make comments on my blog saying how much they enjoy it…. so Thank You.  I hope to continue to entertain, educate and inspire in 2013.

I’m happy to say that today was spent without a hangover.  Not sure how… might have been the massive amount of food I consumed over the course of the afternoon and evening and the endless glasses of water I made sure to keep drinking.  I also knew to cut myself off after the 8th visit from my children that were meant to be sleeping long before midnight.  What happens to us in those times where we end up spending the ‘day after’ in misery, hating ourselves for the incessant pounding in our heads, the spins, the nausea, the shakes…  Are we just not cognizant of our own limits?  The sheer lack of utterance of the words No Thanks when your friend offers to buy you another at an ungodly hour of the night when you know you should be getting home to bed?  Or is it just plain stupidity?

A few weeks ago we had our office holiday party at a place where you break up into teams and face off against each other in a kitchen cook off – sort of like Chopped or Top Chef.  One of the best part of the night was outstanding service and most importantly, that the wine was an endless pour.  At no point over the course of 5 hours was my glass ever half full(you can tell it’s new years… i’m still in positive mode with the half full instead of half empty comment).  While there was plenty to eat, I didn’t realize quite how much I had drank until I left the building and walked into Penn station, or should I say stumbled.   I made sure to purchase a bottle of water before boarding my train, found a quiet seat in an over illuminated train car and settled in.  It wasn’t long before we were on the go and I began to feel the effects.  The car was moving, not just toward home but in every direction.  I was not happy.  I don’t think I’ve had the spins since my 20’s and at 40, they still SUCK.  I managed to make it home and get into bed without throwing up.  However, while cleaning out my bag today in preparation for heading back to work tomorrow (always nice to start the year with a clean bag), I found an envelope with scribble unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.  It took me some time to realize that I had written this on my way home that night (I guess I was trying to take my mind off of the alcohol induced spins).  Fairly impressed with my rhyming skills while completely inebriated, I felt the need to share:

Being drunk in your 40’s just doesn’t compare
To the times in your life when you just didn’t care
A shot or three once got the night started
My tolerance now seems to have parted.
Once a lover of tequila and gin
Never a dull moment, often verging on sin.
Now a glass or two of wine does me right
I never thought 10pm would be the end of my night.
Still love to dance and get on my groove
But on top of the bar I no longer approve.
Hoping my girls let me get some sleep
I’m feeling like shit and need to count some sheep

I’m almost home and can’t hardly wait
This fucking train ride hasn’t been great.
The squeakiest car I’ve ever heard
The bathroom is close and smells like turd.
A better solution there has got to be
Can’t wait to get home, I really have to pee.

Happy New Year.

WTHayley

Tags: , , , ,

WT Homage

4 Jan

385239_10200420036288848_1616781258_n

This weekend we will say goodbye to a legacy that has been an integral part of our lives from the time we were  born. As a child, I was strolled in a pram on it and was fed a bottle from its benches overlooking the ocean. As a kid, I rode my bike along side my parents and walked with no shoes.  It left tiny splinters in my feet as I ran too fast to the ice cream stand.   As a teen, it was there for many first kisses, long walks hand-in-hand and it watched from afar as I sat on its beach looking out at the ocean on a starry night.  It provided shelter from passing rain storms on a hot summer day or a place to change out of a wetsuit.   It keep me hidden from beach patrol while I snuck beers and smoked with my friends.   It made a rattling noise as my bike slapped against its boards while I rode from Neptune to Grand, over and over again.  I’ve jumped from its edge to avoid paying for a pass and sat with friends while they spent the summers as ticket takers.  I’ve dripped ice cream and sprinkles on it, stubbed out a cigarette on it and left grains of long beach sand in its tiny crevasses.   It gave me a place to sit to watch the surfers catch their waves, scope out the hot lifeguards or just enjoy a slurpy on a beautiful summer day.   I’ve watched the summer crowds walk all over it and have enjoyed its solace on cold winter days.  It gave us memories that will last a lifetime and will live forever in our hearts.

-WT Hayley 😦

Photo from CB Sullivan

Tags: , ,

WT Happy Birthday To Me

15 Nov
While I promised to inundate you with my impending milestone, I feel I’ve fallen a little short the last few weeks.  Sorry, but as most of you know, Storm Sandy no power and a NorEaster put a little damper on things.  I’m am not going to complain about a week with no power and a cancelled trip to Puerto Rico while others have dealt and are dealing with so much worse.  Among the devastation in my home town of Long Beach and many other places that were hit hard, I have seen such camaraderie and an outpouring of love and support for those in need.  It speaks wonders about the human spirit.  Neighbors helping neighbors and better yet, strangers helping strangers.  (However, had we been treating our planet with such love over the last hundred years, we may not be seeing the weather do what it has been doing.  But, I’m not about to go all GREEN on you – i’ll save that for another WTH)
On a day when the love is pouring in from all corners of the world, I couldn’t feel more blessed and grateful. Moving into the next decade of my life, I am fortunate to have found such amazing friends, lots of new and some dating back 30, even 40 years.  I am so lucky to have, and to remember, so many of the great times I’ve had in my life (along with many nights I dont remember so vividly and a small handful of those I’d like to forget).  I have no regrets, only experiences that have made me stronger.
I view my milestone of 40 as a new chapter in what I hope to be a very long book of life.  I’ve set new goals, have new dreams and look forward to what’s to come.  And during it all, I hope to continue to entertain you all with my writing, make new friends and fans and eventually take it to another level.
If you’re a fan, you may have recently read WT Hal.  The exercise I used to write his Eulogy was something I had done for myself as well and thought that it would be nice to share it with you, to get a little more insight into who I am, as if you don’t have enough already.
I AM FROM……
 I am from Susan and Hal – iconic-mother, best friend, mentor, savior, tour guide of life and love; whom I can’t image a day without.   Father figure, influencer of who I have become professionally, business coach, building block and foundation and man who I compare every other to – for both good and bad.

 I am from a tight knit family no matter the distance, no matter the continent.  From brotherly love I wouldn’t trade for anything, for whom I would give and do anything and love whole-heartedly and unconditionally. 

 I am from sharing and caring, treat others how you’d want to be treated, if you make a funny face and the wind blows it will be stuck that way, shit on a shingle, bloody hell, g-d give me strength, work hard play hard, don’t judge a book by its cover, beauty is only skin deep, don’t forget to call your mother and be home for supper.

 I am from Atari’s frogger, pitfall, Donkey Kong and Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers.  I am from Black and White TV’s, Rabbit ear antennas and Cable scrambler boxes.  I am from summers of boats, beaches and sleepaway camps and winters of ski trips, snow forts and snowball fights.  I am from riding boardwalks and riding mountains and riding the roller coaster of life. I am from home cooked meals 7 days a week, family vacations, the ice cream man, playing till dusk and up at dawn. From Chicken soup, Matzoh brie and Grimlisch.  From traditions, morals and values that are daily reflections of the past and the goals to achieve for the future. 

 I am from don’t sit on your ass, go get a job.  From newspaper routes, babysitting, summer concessions, the ice rink, the yogurt parlour, office assistant, metro seliger, wells rich green, grey, organic and Verge.  I am from success and entrepreneurs.

 I am from life long friendships, unbroken bonds and everlasting memories.  I am from HADIM.  I am from Brooklyn via Russia/Poland meets Long Island via England.  I am from a blind date gone right.  I am from Long Beach, Montauk, Shandaken, Hartford, NYC, Utah and PW.

 I am from daily challenges that make me stronger, from testing of wills and making concessions, from loving and losing but finding strength and respect to work together.

 I am from my children.  My angels, my light, my purpose, a piece of my heart and soul, my reasons for being that takes my breath away.   I am now from Goodnight Moon, Elmo, Dora and Diego, Kai Lan and Mickey Mouse.  I am from Ice cream covered noses and chins, long beach sand in little tiny crevasses, snow angels, runny noses and scraped up knees with tasty salty little tears.

 I am from lucky – to have what I have, to be who I have become and to see clearly who and where I am going next.  I am from ME.

Thank you all for reading and supporting my new found love for writing.
Much more to come from WTHayley.
Xoxo

Tags: , , , ,

WT Hallelujah

11 Oct

Ben Harper at Carnegie Hall on 10/10/12.  He prefaced the song saying that one of the greatest moments of his musical career was meeting THE Jeff Buckley, who asked Ben to teach him how to play the slide guitar.  Does it get cooler than that?

This will move you.  There really are no words.  Sit back, close your eyes (since the video was taken from afar and you can’t see much anyway) and just let it take you to wherever your mind wants to go.

 

Enjoy.

WTHayley

Tags: , , , , ,

WT40

22 Aug

As I’m getting closer to 40 (trust me this is not the last you will hear about my impending milestone), I have to say I feel more and more that age is irrelevant.  I don’t feel almost-40 and I don’t think I look almost-40 (no comments on this please – I like living in denial).  Is it that we don’t see ourselves as our age or that because we surround ourselves with our peers, we don’t notice our age as much.  (Then again I work in an office with all 20-somethings but still feel like they are my peers).  Either way, my mentality for the next few months is F-40!!!!!

  • Age is just a number
  • You are only as old as you feel
  • Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are wine or cheese.

Last weekend while getting a trim in Roslyn at Salon Rock (this is a plug by the way), I was getting chatted up by the sweet and sexy Carlos the Columbian(not sure if this is his real name but that’s what I’m calling him to protect the innocent).  During our discussion about my plans for the weekend he asked me in the sweetest way possible ‘How Young Are You?’. Since I’m so quick witted, I responded with I’m 39 years young.  Suffice to say, he loved my retort and so began our intense discussion about age.

He was curious to know ‘how long do you plan on living’?  What?  Something I’ve never pondered before I jumped the gun and quickly said 80, later realizing SHIT, I’m half way there, something Don Juan also pointed out.   He compared my life to that of a motor vehicle stating, ‘if you buy a car and you know you’re going to have it for 20 years, after 10 years, knowing you’ve got 10 more years, how are you going to treat that car’?  Good fucking point.  And I totally agree.  I preach all the time that you need to ‘treat your body well and it will treat you well’.  It’s not every day we consider what our body automatically does for us without any effort.  All it needs is to be loved and cared for (and greased and oiled from time to time) and it will continue to do for you.  Too often we take things for granted  and most often we take our bodies for granted.  We abuse it with sun, bad food, chemicals, alcohol and lots of other crap we don’t even know we are putting into it.  Take a day or two and appreciate what it does for you and do something nice for it.  I didn’t mean to go off on another WTHealthy tangent but hopefully I gave you a little food for thought.

As the b-day gets closer, I’ll be reflecting on all of the amazing things I’ve done thus far in my life and all the things I’m putting on my bucket list for the years to come (promise to share at a later date).   I’m incredibly thankful for all the people that have come into and gone out of my life and for the memories we’ve had along the way.  Whether you’re 30, 40 or 50 we’ve all got one life to live – live happy!

As Oscar Wilde once said, “Experience is the name we give to our mistakes” or Abraham Lincoln – “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years”.

In the words of WTH, I’m not turning 40 – I’m 18 with 22 years of experience.  I’m sure I’ve just stolen someone else’s line but…..

WTH!

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Entries