This week’s inspiration is super short and super sweet! It was my birthday week, and my, oh my, did we celebrate!

As I bask in the memories of special visits, special meals, flowers, cards, texts, phone calls, FaceTimes, Snapchats, social media posts, thoughtful gifts, and yes, a TON of red velvet cake, it occurs to me that celebrations are important, even vital to our well-being.

Why?

Here are the quotes that inspired me to that conclusion:

From happiness expert, Gretchen Rubin:

Milestone moments are opportunities for evaluation and reflection. Hitting a milestone such as a major birthday . . . often acts as a catalyst for change.

Then, poet and philosopher Mark Nepo reminded me:

We are each faced with the endless and repeatable task of discovering, or uncovering, our enthusiasm. . .

And Abraham Lincoln, well, he may have said it best:

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.

Yes!

This milestone moment gave me a chance to reflect, reset, and rethink what I still want in my life, what fires up my enthusiasm and will give life to the years I still have ahead.

What does that mean for me?

Paralysis can be isolating. So, to continue my enthusiasm for the life I have yet to live, I’m ramping up my search for ways to stay connected by renewing my commitment to this phrase I first used in 1997 at my “Closure Party,” (page 116 of my book if you want the full story.)

When is the last time you did something for the first time?

Here’s my first time effort as a sixty-year-old woman, a video “thank you” to all those who chose to celebrate with me on my special day. I’ve shared on Facebook and Instagram (and loved all the responses!) and now I want to share it with you. Enjoy! You can share it, too, if you like.

How about you? What keeps you enthusiastic about the future and looking forward to that next birthday? Tell me about it. I’d love to know.

P.S. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers for Madison. She has adjusted to the brace quite well, don’t you think? And for those who asked, here’s the link again for Madison’s Banner at our annual Pathfinders for Autism Golf Tournament on May 21. Thanks in advance for your support!