Getting Emotional

This weekend we celebrated my dad’s 60th birthday with a big party complete with dinner, drinks, and dancing.  The party was not a surprise- but there were several surprises for him this weekend.  The main surprise was one of his best buddies- who also happens to be his son in law (married to my sister)- flew in from Anchorage, ALASKA to surprise him.  When they connected and embraced, my dad and Ryan (brother in law) both got teary eyed (as did I).  It was a beautiful moment that took place in my family’s garage.

My dad has said over and over that he gets more emotional each year.  I am beginning to realize that is the case for me as well.  I think that every year that goes by gets more “real” because we begin to realize the magnitude of special moments.  These include celebrations, time with friends and family, and seeing little ones grow up.

We realize that we may have a birthday EVERY year, but we only have one 60th birthday.  Or we look back over those 60 years of life and realize that we don’t have 60 more to live.  We cherish the memories, friends, and opportunities we have been given and our hindsight is 20/20.

Last month we celebrated my son’s birthday.  I was emotional about him “getting older” but what hit me hardest is I only have 14 more summers with him before he goes to college.  Now, I realize that may sound ridiculous to you (and my husband made me very aware of this fact).  But for me, realizing I have a limited amount of time left- a count down of sorts- made me sad.

I think that is what adds to the emotion equation:

grateful for the past memories + knowing we don’t live forever= emotions

Good, bad, or ugly… emotions are meant to be felt, embraced, and a wonderful reminder to be grateful for whatever you have experienced and what memories are still to come.

love, brooke