Yep. I’m pretty sure that I have heard or been told hundreds of times to stop living in the past and worrying about the future. But we need reminders every now and then, right? Yes. I think so.

Let’s just say that this morning wasn’t for me. For, what seems to be, the entire month of January I have been battling some sort of illness; a cold, vomiting, incessant pain and very little sleep. And last night was a sleepless night. As I am forcing myself out of bed this morning (in tears) and about to have a massive meltdown about hating the day before it even began, my phone went ‘ping – ping.’ (Sorry for the lack of sound effects, I tried.)

It was a txt message from a friend checking in on me. How did she know I was about to implode upon myself and crawl back under the covers?! (If you want my honest answer, I think she has a magic crystal ball. This isn’t the first time she has coincidentally been there at the exact moment I need someone. 

My reply to her txt was brutally honest and so began a brutally honest conversation…

What happened yesterday is over. What happened last Monday is done. Why am I still dwelling on it and hating myself for it; letting it frustrate me? Good question. Well stop. Now. Every second that I spend focusing on the pain I was in yesterday or the sleep I didn’t get on Sunday, I am missing the sunshine and beauty of right now…. and now….and now. Get it?

Wait. I’m not finished. Stop waiting for the ‘right time’ to do something. When the time comes, you will know. Live right NOW. Enjoy your moments, even the bitty ones, of victory and allow the moments of defeat in and then out.

(Insert snap of fingers here)

And just like that, I could see the sunshine peeking through my windows. (Thank you EB. You know you rock my world)

Now I could let my day begin. Honestly, I can say it was a good one. After almost a month, I finally found a place to make the AFO, a special brace for my right leg, that I got the script for back in December. #winning. Sorry, that did just happen.

Paul, the nice man who fitted me for it, even let me pick out what color I wanted. After turning down camo and butterflies, I went with pink and white; standard Kristen… ok fine, the padding is pink and blue ‘confetti’ too. Crossing that task off my list of things to do felt mighty nice.

In walking back to my car, I found that the City Of Charleston had left me a nice little token in the form of a parking ticket… because the first thing that I remembered when I got up was that it was the fourth Wednesday of the month so I couldn’t park on the street. Yeah, no. Fail. But before I freaked out, I told myself that things could be worse; which they could have been… I wasn’t towed!

Just when you thought the day couldn’t get any worse, I was sitting on my couch with a friend doing some writing when I sneezed and thus peed my pants. Yes, you heard me right. Peed. My. Pants. Just enough to where I had to change them.

And with that I’ll say…

Today is a gift and that is indeed why it is called the present. Live it.

Love.