A simple saying that my mom has said over the years.  Simply put it means that she wants to be celebrated while she is still on this side of the dirt and can celebrate with us.  It’s true!   Why do we put off doing things with people?  Then when they’ve passed on, we bring flowers, cry, and wish we had more time to do the things we wanted to with them.

Taking this into consideration, I’ve taken two trips in the past month to celebrate some people.  First up was Panama City Beach in late September.  This was to attend a surprise 50^th wedding anniversary party for a good friend of mine.  Although the surprise had been ruined by some well-meaning friends that couldn’t attend, my friend and her husband were overwhelmed by all the people that did show up.  It was moving to see the husband tear up seeing his family that had traveled from TX for the occasion.  My friend told me she was surprised by the amount of people that showed up for them.  I told her that they had made a great impression on lots of people’s lives, so people showed up for them.

Second trip was an extended weekend in Charleston, SC during the first week of October.  I met up with my cousins to celebrate one cousin’s husband’s 70^th birthday.  It was a surprise trip, and he didn’t discover until arriving at the hotel just how many people (14) had traveled to mark this occasion with him.  At his special dinner, he thanked us for taking the time to be there for him.  Once again, I thought about the impact that he has had on my life and the lives of so many others.

My point is that I didn’t have to go on either trip, but I would have missed out on so much by not going.  The last time I saw some of my cousins was at my dad’s funeral.  By going, I created good memories by hanging out, laughing, and enjoying their company for a while.   Yes, I’m going to continue to give out some flowers now, while I still can.  Who knows?  I might even receive some.