I admit that my blog is late going up this week because I couldn’t really figure out what to write about. And then I got news this morning that shook me.

Hubby and I are Parrotheads. We have monthly meetings at a restaurant, and we strive to provide live music at those events — usually a changing rotation of local artists who come in and sing to us during the meeting. Last night was such an event; we chose not to go because the Covid surge in the area has been pretty troublesome.

The last thing I thought I would hear about the meeting is that the musician died during the meeting. What?! He apparently passed out while setting up to play, one of our members administered CPR while waiting on an EMS team, and he didn’t make it.

My heart goes out to his family, as well as the people who were there at the meeting and witnessed such an unexpected and tragic event on what should have been a normal Thursday night meeting. A huge bravo to a member who is a retired RN and gave CPR until EMS arrived.

But it also goes to show that we never really do know what life will deal us, or when. Had I known eight years ago that it would take me so long to lose weight, I am not sure I would have stuck with it for very long at all. I might have given up, knowing in advance what I would face. Now, it makes sense to me that I really needed to learn a lot about myself in order to be successful, but before understanding that was part of the journey, I’m not so sure I would have pushed through.

Not to mention, the challenges those eight years have included, from career changes to losing both a brother and our mother to enduring a pandemic, to all the daily battles in between.

Many of you have been with me for every step, and I thank you for that. If my life ended today, it would be tragic, but I am thankful for having made the decision to change my life those long years ago. During those same eight years, I’ve found the bravery to do a lot of amazing things that were missing from my life, before. The experiences have enriched my life and made each day just a bit more worth the effort of moving ever forward toward my goals.

In those same eight years, I’ve discovered travel again, returned to music, became a grandparent. I upgraded my knees to bionic models. I’ve dropped from size 32 to size 14 jeans. I’ve walked countless miles.

For all of the big moments in life, though, the ones that matter most are the ability to smile, again; to be sure and happy in my own skin; to know happiness after rising from the depression years ago. While I’m grateful for the life-changing moments, I am more thankful for the simple times that await me. Don’t pass up those opportunities to laugh, to dance, to listen to music, to enjoy even the smallest moments. We don’t know what life holds or when some moment will change us, but in the meantime, we can grab the joy.