Celebrate More

I’m celebrating. Actually my granddaughter and I are celebrating. She and I will go shopping and she will choose where we have lunch. And she is going to do all the driving. Because we are celebrating her receiving her driver’s license.

When she told me she was taking driver’s education last summer, I promised her a day of shopping and having lunch to celebrate her getting her license. So now it’s time to keep that promise.

But we are not only celebrating her obtaining her driver’s license. We are celebrating her determination to get that license. We’re celebrating all she had to do in order to get it. We’re celebrating her commitment to that end.

You see, I feel we should celebrate more than birthdays, anniversaries, graduations. Those dates are important, of course. However, there are so many other reasons to celebrate.

Several years ago, well, more than several years ago, I organized a picnic to celebrate the achievement of two of my grandsons who were in T-Ball. I told them the picnic was in their honor for attending their practice sessions and games and helping their team.

We’ve celebrated awards family members have received.

Did you ever think of celebrating with a friend who has been struggling with weight loss tells you they managed to reach their goal? A simple celebration could mean the world to them. Present them with a small gift ... a balloon, a few flowers ... or spend an afternoon together. After all, they’ve more than earned bragging rights.

You don’t have to look very hard to find something to celebrate. Why not celebrate your child or grandchild’s making the honor roll at school? Or getting a good grade on a test?

Or celebrate finishing up planting your vegetable garden or flowers? Or even getting the yard cleaned up in the spring? Have a picnic in the yard. Fire up the grill and cook hot dogs and hamburgers. Make a big pitcher of lemonade. And enjoy looking at what was accomplished.

A charm bracelet I had years ago held a fish charm. My Dad had purchased it for me to celebrate my catching not only the first fish of the season but for catching one bigger than the one he caught.

When I landed the job I was applying for, Dad gave me two more charms for my bracelet .... a desk and a swivel chair .... as his way of celebrating my new employment.

On the T-shirts given out by Relay for Life is the word “Celebrate.” So often that’s the one thing we forget to do yet should do more of .... celebrate. Celebrate life with all of its ups and downs, its bumps and curves. Sure, there’s bad things happen in life. That’s a given. But when a problem arises in our lives and we manage to get through it, why not celebrate?

It just could be that the more we celebrate life, the happier and more satisfying our lives will be.