Win of the Week

...Huh? What?

Oh, yes, yes. Hi there.

I feel like I've been knocked upside the head with a sledgehammer.

BUT, regardless of how I feel, today is Friday!

(cue the party hats, streamers, and balloons)

And, since it's Friday, regardless of how we feel, we celebrate. We share our Win of the Week with one another, because, after a long week, we sometimes need a pat on the back!

I'm having a difficult time deciding on my Win of the Week. It's been a pretty exciting week. We were able to spend time with family this past weekend. I also had an interview for a potential Master's Program earlier on in the week. Then, later on in the week, we turned in our "big" senior paper (which I finished a couple of weeks ago - but more on that later).

It's so difficult to pick sometimes, which I suppose isn't a terrible problem to have.

I guess I'd have to say that my Win of the Week would have to be... guest posting at Kerry's blog! Kerry has recently started following along here at Life Before the Bucket and brings an entirely new perspective to me as I write. I thought I'd return the favor to her by posting about rest, so be sure to check it out sometime today and leave your thoughts on the post that I wrote!

So... What about you? What was your Win of the Week?

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I'd appreciate you subscribing to Life Before the Bucket and sharing it with your friends. Thanks a million for reading! 

Surprise!

What's this? Two posts in one day? Color me befuddled!

That's right, folks. I'm here for a second time today.

But I'm here to send you away.

So leave! Go away!

Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you where to go.

Check out Kerry's Heady Brew for a guest post I just wrote as a part of a series on rest!

I would've posted about it this morning, but she's in Australia, and time's all... metric, and stuff. So it's morning there now! Check it out!

Leap Day, Part Deux

Yesterday was a unique day. February 29th only rears its head every four years, but now it's come and gone.

In honor of Leap Day, we speculated. We dreamed. We imagined what it would be like to have an extra day to live.

Most of the answers were simple. None of them were extravagant (like buying a sports car and racing it in the country). I think that our Leap Day exercise is more than speculation, though. It seems to reveal something about us.

When we imagine what we would do with our last day alive, we often reveal that which we value the most.

So, for most of you, it seems, family trumps all. Most likely, I'd fall under this category as well. I can't imagine a better way to spend my last day alive than with those who have invested in me from day one.

What, though, does this mean for us practically? As far as I know, there hasn't been a scientist yet that could predict the exact day of a person's death (though some websites try), at least not with any sort of consistency.

And I know for sure that nobody has the technology to give a person an extra day to live. So what do we make of this? Is this exercise helpful beyond stretching our imaginations? Well, I'd like to think it is.

You see, from my perspective, every day is a gift. I've always been sick and I always will be sick. I've never had a shortened life expectancy placed upon me, but there have been days when, in sickness, I feel lucky to be alive.

It's like every single day that I wake up is an extra day to live. Every day that I get to enjoy is one day longer than I'm promised that I'll live. After all, I'm not promised tomorrow by anyone or anything. Tomorrow hasn't yet happened, and there's no guarantee that it will.

But today... Today is here. Today is now. Today is happening, and it's another day beyond what we've been promised. It's almost as if we've been given an extra day to live (even if it doesn't seem that way).

So reflect on your Leap Day exercise and then remember: you've been given that extra day. What did you say you were going to do with it? What's keeping you from that? If we were in our "extra day" scenario, would you let work or school or stress stop you from doing what you want to do most with your last day alive?

Take today seriously, friends. It's all we've been promised. It's a gift we've been given. We can leave it sitting, wrapped neatly, and wondering what it holds. Or we can tear it open like a 5 year old on their birthday.

Yesterday has passed  and will never be again. Tomorrow may never come. But today? Today is happening right as we speak. Make the most of it while you still can.

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Questions: What might keep you from doing what you enjoy most today? How can you get around these obstacles to enjoy today fully?

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I'd appreciate you subscribing to Life Before the Bucket and sharing it with your friends. Thanks a million for reading! 

image credit: yunior - sxc.hu

Leap Day

Another heads up: We still want you to write a guest post for us!  Check out this post for more information and then shoot me an e-mail with your ideas!

So I hear today is Leap Day.

Are you doing anything special to celebrate the "extra" 24 hours?

Or will today be like every other Leap Day you've experienced, sentenced to mediocrity and forgetfulness?

I, for one, want today to be unforgettable. After all, it's not every day that you get an "extra" day to live.

Of course, we all know that today isn't really a bonus day of our lives at all. Leap Day doesn't magically give us an extra 24 hours every 4 years to add to our lives. It's always been there - we just haven't taken advantage of it.

But let's imagine for just a moment...

What if we were given an extra day to live?

Would you spend your extra day partying?

Let's say that God (or science, or whatever) tells us exactly the number the days we have left to live. And the source telling us this is correct 100% of the time. But then... surprise! You get an extra day tacked on the end!

That would be a great feeling, wouldn't it? To know you get an extra 24 hours to enjoy all that you'll miss when you're time is up. What a reward!

So here's my question for you: what would you do with your extra day? 

If you were really given an extra day to live (and not just a fake one, like Leap Day), how would you spend it?

Would you... test drive your favorite car? Loot your favorite store? Fly to a resort to enjoy your last day?

Or would you spend time with your family? Reconcile a broken relationship? Confess your unspoken love for someone?

You're free as a bird - but with one stipulation. Unlike most exercises similar to this one, money is an object. You'd have as much as you'd expect yourself to have made by the end of your life.

Feel free to be creative and think outside of the box on this one. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

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Questions: If you were given 24 extra hours to live, how would you spend it and why? Why would you choose that way over another?

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I'd appreciate you subscribing to Life Before the Bucket and sharing it with your friends. Thanks a million for reading! 

Living to the Fullest: Can a Single Mom do it?

Note from Adrian: This week's guest post is from one of my internet friends named Kateri. She's a 27 year old single mother living in New York. She writes often about her life as she experience it at her blog, which you should subscribe to. Be sure to read this post and leave her some epic feedback in the form of a comment!

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When I start writing, I try to really make sure I understand what it is I am typing about. So, yeah, I Google’d the topic. Do you know how much phony bologna websites there is about “Living Life to the Fullest” or “Living an Abundant Life”?

There are TOO MANY.

So, now that I have sworn off being correctly informed on the topic… what shall I do?

There was a time that I didn’t live at all. Not to say that I didn’t wake up and go through the motions. I did those things – eat, shower (mostly), and sleep. However, that was not living; it was existing.

I feel that on the whole, our society exists. We wake up, we go to work (or don’t go to work), we come home, we eat, and then we go to sleep. Rinse and repeat. Yup, I once existed, with no drive to be more, and no conviction to try for better.

Then, I had my son. Now, for some people, children are the joy of their lives: it’s a feeling only expressed because society tells them to. When I had my son, I literally saw a light. I wasn’t supposed to, you see. I was supposed to be very lucid after giving birth. I lost a little too much blood, and being anemic, I passed out. I saw the light while passing out.

However, when I woke up, there was Emry, in all of his awesomeness. And now that I was aware, I knew everything had to change.

There was no more waking up whenever I felt like it.

There was no more working when I felt like it.

No more unsavory people, situations, or behaviors that I had become accustomed to, that I had grown to secretly hate, but would never say such because I was too far gone.

Looking at him, there was no choice. I had to live. I had to push forward and see that there was more to life, more than just the motions.

I call that Day 1.

Since then, I have strived to better myself (and Emry) by truly becoming an adult. I got me some edjucation. Hahaha – I know you all would get my joke. But, seriously, I found something I was good at, and I went to school for it. I got a degree and then… I didn’t use it. Turns out that what I was good at wouldn’t pay the bills. Wouldn’t support my son and I.

(Yes, I was married during this time, but we weren’t happy, and my change of direction made things worse. Not the reason for this post, so let’s just say… It’s always been my kid and me on this journey.)

Now, the feelings of defeat were starting to set in, and I really thought that I would never get anywhere.

Soon, though, another light appeared. That light’s name is Melissa. Melissa is undoubtedly my best friend and is the one of the purest people I have ever met. She gave me a lifeline. She told me about the position I now work at.

I work in the field of healthcare, and positions of worth are few and far between. However, this one was a perfect fit. I got in, even though I was sure they hated me, and have been working here for the past 1 ½ years. It’s a Christian-based organization, so really, how could they hate me? But, you find hate, or fear, in any organization.

After the 3 years of hard work, studying, defeat, and the almost loss of motivation, I had taken another step in the right direction.

Sounds quirky, right? Sounds Lifetime movie-esque?

Well, it’s the truth. Plain and simple. It all ties together, though.

To live life to its fullest, you must make positive steps in your growth as a person. Whether it is through your faith or other belief systems, you need to make a plan and stick with it. The plan can be modified, as long as you keep pushing.

Never compromise your values to get what you want. Good things come in time to those who deserve them.

You do not want to live the life you want based on the fact you schemed, or acted duplicitously. It wouldn’t truly satisfy you when you did get it. It would never be truly earned.

Living honestly and truly – that’s living life to the fullest.

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Questions: Do you know any single parents? How do they make time to live life to the fullest? If you were in the same situation, how would you strive to life more fully?

This guest post was part of a guest post series called "Living to the Fullest." Interested in joining in? I'm still looking for submissions! Just write up a post, or even just an idea, and e-mail it my way.