birthday celebration begins

Spent a relaxing Sunday afternoon reading and enjoying a delicious frozen

hot chocolate drink.  Of course, it would have been nice if

I was at the JT and Jay-Z concert, but having dinner 

with friends was a wonderful second (first) best.

After dinner, we walked over to Piccomolo for gelato.

Delish!

Now, I've been thinking a lot about time and age.  Getting older.

At first, I was really dreading it.  Well, okay, I still dread it a little

(maybe a lot on some days).  But, after last night, I realized, I

really wouldn't want to be that young again ... meaning, high school

or even college or law school in my mid-twenties.  

I guess, for me, it was stressful times in my life.

Not to say that I don't get stressed out now or 

my difficulties have become less.  Just different.  

How I feel and handle the stresses in my life

are different.  And it has a lot to do 

with age and experience.

At sixteen, I thought having a boyfriend was the key to happiness, and

at eighteen, I thought heartbreak would kill me and be the end of the world.

At twenty-one, I thought that acceptance was being a part of a social group, 

and success was achieving the road most taken.

At twenty-five, I thought that if I wanted to go to law school, 

I needed to let go of being a writer. 

And at thirty, I thought that being a lawyer meant actually acting like one

(what the heck does that mean, right?).

But, with age, I've learned that ...

being in a relationship doesn't guarantee happiness,

and heartbreak doesn't kill you even if it feels like it.

It may feel like the end of the world, but it's not.

And being a part of a group doesn't mean I actually belong.

Acceptance has nothing to do with what others

think of me, but with how I feel about myself.

And success does not mean achieving what society thinks I should be,

it's becoming the person God has planned for me to be.

Going to law school didn't mean I needed to let go of being a writer,

and being a lawyer didn't mean I was no longer me.

Anyhow, I was inspired by Tahnie's 30 acts of kindness project

that she's doing for her birthday.  (Read about it here.)

So, I thought, what do I want?  What is something that I want

to change in this new year in my life?

Love.

Act with love.

Show love.

Speak love.

I struggle with it.

But, I've been working on it.

And for my birthday, that's what I want.

So, on Tuesday (July 30), which is my birthday, I challenge all of you

to celebrate love.  Show love to others around you.  Extend an act of love to a stranger

or to someone you may have neglected for awhile.  Maybe call your best friend, who

you haven't spoken to in awhile and tell her you love her.  It's simple really.

Anyhow, celebrate love however you do.  I challenge you to spend

the day with the intent of love in all of your actions.

If you join me, email or comment to let me know.

If you decide to capture your celebration of love on Instagram,

use #lovealwayswins hashtag.

Hope you had a beautiful weekend!