I have quite a bit to be grateful for this month, so I will be journaling those stories for August’s Week of Grace. If it reminds you of something you’re grateful for, please please please share them here in the comments. I love reading them!
Today, I’ll tell you about my mom’s birthday earlier this month, and how it was one of the best parties ever.
To celebrate, our long-time neighbors and good friends Ace and Jill invited my family to their daughter Diana’s house in Valley Center. Jill was celebrating her birthday, too! On top of that, Diana’s beautiful show dog had puppies a few weeks earlier, and wouldn’t we like to play with them a little before they were sent off to their new homes? You bet! How can anyone resist puppies?
The puppies, of course, were totally awesome. And Ace seemed content being a good granddad to the fuzzy little ones. And the dinner was amazing. And the cake. And most of all, the company. We had such a good time, and someone remarked that wow, we hadn’t been all together since my wedding 10 years ago! 10 years! How does time get by like that?
The party ended, as did the weekend, then life resumed as usual… but just later that week, I got the completely unexpected message from my mom that Ace had died of a heart attack. What? Heart attack?? Ace??? I was more confused than upset because my brain kept wanting confirmation that this was the-same-Ace-that-we-just-partied-with-puppies??? Oh, I was so sad for Jill and Diana. And I was so sad for my parents, who would so miss him.
For myself, all I could keep thinking was how grateful I was that I got to spend one last awesome day with a truly wonderful man. It made me appreciate any time I spent with anyone I cared about. Love to you and everyone who loved you, Ace.
Week of Grace is a 7-day journaling project, scientifically designed to make you happier, healthier, and more productive. For 7 days, please join in and respond to the gratitude story posted! To get the full benefits, you should write out your response rather just think about it. You may comment here, tweet #weekofgrace, email a friend, or even write out your response longhand.
Week of Grace for August 2010 starts Wednesday the 25th and ends Tuesday the 31st.
One response to “Week of Grace: The Puppy Party”
While I was reading Christine’s story, tears welled up. If I feel pain this much, then, how will his wife and daughter would feel? Anyway, I am so grateful that he didn’t suffer and didn’t happen while he was driving.
The lesson that I learned is that our life is not guaranteed. I will say “I love you” right away, I will say “Forgive me” right away. I will not wait for another day or few weeks to think about it. I am grateful that I have my life now and my loving family are near me. I am grateful that I can pray to God.