February 27, 2013: Re-post of First Post

I thought it fitting to re-post my first blog entry to this site dated January 31, 2012. This gives a bit of background on the motivation behind my posts. Since I just started logging daily entries this year and only sporadically when I started (and since I am behind in my writing because I have spent half my waking hours in airports the last few days ;)), I am posting again.........
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Inspiration comes in many forms. For this blog it started with a random text from a co-worker, which lead me to a You Tube video, which resulted in a perceived compliment, and then an "aha moment" with this blog idea.

The text came a couple of weeks ago from a co-worker who expressed to me that a video she just watched made her think of me. This random text peaked my curiosity and led me to Google the noted video, "The Gift of an Ordinary Day". After a bit of fumbling with my less-than-nimble You-Tube searching skills, I located this video which is associated with author Katrina Kenison and her book of the same name. The seven minute video is of the author reading excerpts from the book while flashing touching photos of her two sons growing from infants through childhood and into young adulthood. Her words resonated with me on the quickness of this growing up process and the value of our ordinary days with our children. And then my "aha moment" was when I heard her words, “It has taken awhile, but I certainly do know it now – the most wonderful gift I had, the gift I finally learned to cherish above all else, was the gift of all those perfectly ordinary days.”

It really is our ordinary days of play dates, parks, meals shared, and quiet time with our kids that fill our souls and make up our dearest memories of their childhood. I felt so complimented to be compared to this woman whose cup appeared to always be half-full. I felt connected with her words and feelings of completeness as a mother in experiencing the gifts of the ordinary days. After spending years journaling my ordinary days with my kids, this blog seemed the natural extension to something I not only like to share, but like to memorialize. I have reams of journals from years past that typically included a daily page with notes on what we did, how we felt, special moments and quotes, and an accompanying photo snapped my me, the family photographer.

I am a memory collector and that's what memory collectors do...we write down our thoughts and feelings and look forward to reminiscing on these warm moments that are now frozen in time in the years to come. And a random picture that glorifies the day is nothing short of frosting on the cake. So this blog is going to be two part...a collection of stories on the ordinary days to come and a documentary of the days of the past. A picture tells a thousand words and I am blessed with a basement full of snapshots capturing some wonderful moments. I also have a wicked memory that does store some very irrelevant data, but also has captured some great details on relationships, feelings, interactions, and commentary that accompany these many pictures. I am very much looking forward to translating this collection of memories in my brain to paper. Thank-you for reading and allowing me to share. Enjoy your ordinary days and hopefully the bits and pieces of mine will resonate with the moments in your lives that bring you happiness. Peace. ~ Sandy