This is the End.

Yes, the time has come. In one short week it will all be over. 7 days. Only SEVEN short, simple, ordinary days.

Have you ever thought about how much we take advantage of time? I mean, really...we know from the get go that we have a finite number of days on this Earth. We know that each decade only contains 10 years, each year, only 52 weeks, each week only 7 days, each day a mere 24 hours, each hour a few 60 minutes, and each minute a precious 60 seconds. That's not all that much time when you break it down, now is it?

It makes you stop and wonder. What are we doing with the finite amount of time that we have? Are we embracing those moments? Now, don't get me wrong...this is not a post to encourage you to quit your job and go pursue all that is right and just in the world. While I would be the first to jump on that bus, I am also altogether far too aware of the reality that is life. But...that being said...is it really worth it to just let these seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, and decades pass without really seeing that they are there? No. It's not.

Last year I decided to adopt a "word for the year." I have talked about this before, and I know many of my readers also embrace a word each year. My word last year was 'enjoy.' It was a phenomenal choice and I didn't really even realize it at the outset. You see, I chose the word because I guess I started to think about these things then, but boy did I discover something wonderful! You can actually do it! It is possible, even when it doesn't really seem like it, to enjoy your time. I truly embraced that word last year and in that I was able to uncover what it truly meant. Was I happy all year long, hopping along with smiles and pigtails and pretty bows and flowers in my hair? Hell, NO! Last year sort of sucked, actually. My hair is short so I can't even do pigtails, and while I'm known to put a "little hop in my day" every day, it is a bit more subtle than a joyous jaunt. Plus...I'm allergic to a lot of flowers, so I generally avoid real ones of any kind. BUT...this does not preclude one from enjoying ones time.

This year has started out pretty sucky, too, actually. My husband is still searching for a job and being that he is brilliant (no, not by my standards, but rather by those who know these things), has experience on multiple levels, is incredibly hot, works hard, is flexible, and is a genuinely all around great person, it doesn't make much sense that he doesn't have one yet. Personally, I blame the 'boomers. (Sorry, guys...but really...you are causing anguish among may. I don't make this stuff up!) The thing is, even with all of that and the repercussions of such a thing in such an economy as that in which we currently stand, I am still finding that I can enjoy my time.

I embrace moments. I do things that I want to do. I don't do things that I don't want to do. If I have to do something that isn't all that pleasant, I spin it and find the good parts. You know...like the paycheck that shows up even if I wasn't too excited to go to work on a particular day. I'm also not trying to convince you that "there is good in everything and the world is filled with sunshine and roses." Yes, well sunshine and roses bring sunburn and earwigs! There is gonna be a down side, folks, there just will be. But we don't have to embrace the down side. You just deal with that part. Move on. Go forward. Yes, you can wonder what may be next and maybe even worry a little now and then, but don't forget to enjoy.

Last night I was exhausted. For some reason I had a really tired kind of day. I got home and sat down at my incredibly messy desk in my insanely disastrous scrapbook room and looked at my computer. The desktop was .... well, let's just say a 'bit' out of hand. It was not a happy thing. I was not 'enjoying' the state of my computer. So...I fixed it. I went through and set up folders and completely cleared my desktop of all folders and files. I trashed a ton of stuff that I did not need and I sorted and organized the rest. Then, I went through my documents folder for the first time since I graduated from college (yes...it has been transferred from machine to machine all along the way...) and I actually organized all of THAT, too! We are talking a span of, well, at least eight years here folks. I had just never taken the time to do it. It's done. It's all sorted and organized and I am a happy girl who is enjoying the ease of using my Mac in its wonderfully organized form. I then was in the mood to 'fix' clutter stress, so I cleared the countertop in the kitchen of the various mail and recipes and other sundry items that had somehow managed to accrue. That felt good, too! I ENJOYED it! I was still in the mood to organize, but, as I previously stated, I was tired and I also wanted to just sit. So I did. We sat and ate dinner and watched a movie (an old Jim Henson movie done entirely with Muppets, but the really cool ones that aren't funny and weird. It was interesting.). My scrapbook room is still a mess, my desk is still unworkable, but, I enjoyed my time.

You see, I began this post telling you that this is the end. Only one more week. Seven more days. 168 more hours. 10080 more minutes. 604800 more seconds. This is the end of my twenties. This is it. In one week I will be thirty. I didn't think it would hit me, really at all, but I have found that it is hitting me, just not in the way that birthdays usually hit. I don't necessarily feel 'old.' I simply feel like I need to remember to enjoy. From little to big. From black and white to red and yellow. From second to decade.

This is it. Enjoy.