My 43rd birthday is tomorrow. Since I’ll be spending a large chunk of the day at a wonderful friend’s baby shower, I started my celebration a little bit early. Yesterday, my hair stylist/friend came over and styled my hair. Then, I went to a pampering mani pedi work event where I had my first flower petal pedicure earlier today. My husband and sons have some special “surprise” treats lined up for the weekend but honestly, I already have all that I need and more. Since I don’t have any special birthday wishes for myself, I want to share my birthday wishes for moms (in general).
I’m a big fan of Stephen Covey’s “begin with the end in mind” concept that is found in his bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s hard to believe that I first read that book over two decades ago. (Time!) I’m a visual thinker, so I still vividly recall the image that he wrote about regarding climbing to the top of a ladder only to find out that it was leaning against the wrong wall. That concept has helped me to live in a way that doesn’t necessarily make sense to others all of the time. The important thing though is that it makes perfect sense to me. 🙂
Not to be morbid, but the ultimate end of a life ladder is death. I want to have as few regrets as possible on that day so I have really taken to heart what palliative care worker Bronnie Ware shared about the 5 most common regrets of the dying in her blog post. (She later wrote a book called The Top Five Regrets of The Dying.)
The Addicted 2 Success site has an extended list of life regrets by those about to die. Once again, I’m not sharing them to be morbid but as a reminder about what is truly important as we live.
This infographic originally appeared on http://Addicted2Success.com
By contrast,
My Birthday Wishes for Moms Are That…
1. You pursue your dreams and aspirations.
2. You make time for your family and don’t work too much.
3. You make more time for your friends.
4. You say, ‘I love you’ a lot more (when you actually mean it).
5. You speak your mind instead of holding back and resenting things.
6. You are the “bigger person” and resolve problems as quickly as possible.
7. You have children. (Hmm…this one doesn’t really apply since we’re moms so my wish is that you have as many children as you want…as long as you and your spouse/partner can afford to raise them! Remember that “afford” isn’t just a financial thing though!)
8. You save enough money for your retirement. (Don’t just rely on your spouse or partner. God-forbid, death, disability and/or divorce can happen.)
9. You have the courage to live truthfully. “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” – William Shakespeare
10. You choose happiness (or joy depending on the situation).
Of those ten wishes, I need to work on #8 the most. It seems as if I blinked and went from 20 to (almost) 43. At this rate, I’ll be turning 65 on Sunday. 🙂
What about you…which of the 10 wishes is the most challenging one for you?