Make Every Day Count

 My signature saying for about ten years has been "Make it a GREAT day!!"

I heard it one time on an insurance adjuster's voice mail and I loved it.  (I was an adjuster at the time and let me just tell you...it's a VERY STRESSFUL job; telling someone to "make it a great day", much less actually doing it, was a tall order.  But every time I said it, I was reminded the quality of my day was fully within my control.  I have told, and continue to tell, my kids....you can't control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward it.  That's what "make it a great day" means.  It's not about trying to change, control, or "fix" things that are outside of yourself...it's about making sure the way you are viewing things comes from a positive perspective.

The lady who died at the Women's Half is named Lynn Manzelmann.  I didn't know her, but from what I've learned about her, I wish I had.  Her obituary said:

She was sassy, full of spunk, and lit up the room when she walked in.  She drew people to her like a magnet and made them roar with laughter.  She embraced all who were lucky to know her. ...she was a passionate leader...A consummate cheerleader since high school, she was a huge football fan.  Lynn was a competitor and challenged those who knew her to be their best and go the extra mile.

I've always said when I die I want people to CELEBRATE.  I know my fate when I leave this world will be to spend eternity in Heaven.  I have no doubts about that, and it's an unbelievably comforting assurance.  I'm not making light of the fact when someone dies, there's a hole left on Earth, but at the same time, if I've done what I'd like to do, I will leave behind much more than a hole.  I'll leave a lot of people inspired.  I hope to leave this world just a little better than it was when I got here 41 years ago.  I can't single-handedly solve the problems of the world, but I can strive to make the world around me a little brighter.

Sassy.  Full of Spunk.  Lights up the room.  Draws people to her like a magnet and makes them roar with laughter.  Embraces all who know her.  Passionate leader.  Consummate cheerleader.  Competitor.  Challenges those who know her to be their best and go the extra mile.  I want those things to be said of me.  To sit down on the sidelines and hang my head in sadness is to fly in the face of everything I believe Lynn Manzelmann was in life, and would make a mockery of her death. 

Imagine that...in her death, she reminds me to LIVE every day....and to make it a GREAT DAY.

One of her two daughters posted a comment on my last blog entry...

I am Lynn's daughter. I am also a runner and she inspired me to run marathons. Your words are strangely comforting. Thank you for remembering and mourning her. She was truly amazing person and mother and I wish you could have known her. Keep running. Keep writing. She would absolutely tell you to make every day count.

Rebecca, if you're reading..I'm going to do just that....Make Every Day Count.

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!

:D

That's ME  Yes, skydiving-tandem jump.