The Last Lecture

I went this morning to get a massage.  If that isn't great enough, it was a grandma that gave it to me!  She has a studio in her basement, I got her name from a friend of mine.  I was kind-of intrigued by the idea of a grandma having a massage studio in her basement.  As she got started, I asked her how long she had been doing it.  She said she started three and a half years ago.  She told me she taught school before her kids were born, then stayed home with kids and helped her husband with his business, then tended grandkids for a time.  Through a series of "life" things, she decided at that point to go back to school and learn massage therapy.  Wow!

I don't know how many of you have read or seen "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pauch on Youtube, but I would highly recommend doing one or both.  As a dad with young children, he was diagnosed with cancer and given a finite time to live.  It made him reflect on his childhood dreams, what he wanted to accomplish in his life when he was a child.  Then he set about doing every one of those things before he died.  After I read the book and cried, because it will make you do that, I thought about what my childhood dreams were.  Of course, I wanted to be a mom, I was sure I would live in some sort of castle (no longer a priority!), I wanted to be in the Tabernacle Choir, and to be the kind-of person that inspired others.  I actually pictured myself, when I was a child, speaking in front of hundreds or thousands, as they "oooh"ed and "aaaah"ed at me.  I probably shouldn't admit that now, but it crossed my mind as a child.  The only thing I would add at this point in my life is that I want a masters degree in something, something where I can help people.

As I was laying in bed this afternoon trying to sleep, I started thinking about all of that, inspired by my massage therapist.  When the time is right, I will figure out the masters degree and go for it.  But the one thing I started thinking about is trying out for the Tabernacle Choir.  Both my parents were in the choir when I was a kid, that is what gave me the spark.  I have had countless unforgettable and deeply spiritual moments in other choirs, which I am grateful for.  Now, the Choir has "raised the bar" quite a bit since my parents were in, I have a lot of work to do to even prepare for an audition.  But it is something I know I can do.  I was at a concert in the conference center in 2008 with Maddie.  The choir was outstanding, as always, singing some song I love.  I sang along with them (much to the chagrin of the people around me) and when it was over, I said to Maddie:  "I will be in that choir before 10 years is up!"  Maddie came home and wrote on our Vision Board (where we write everything we want to accomplish so we can accomplish it), "Tabernacle Choir by 48 years old".

All this cancer stuff has made me rethink my direction in life.  That doesn't mean I now where I am going yet, but I have a good idea of where I want to get.  You just never know what is going to happen.  Your life could be drastically different in a matter of a second, just like my "I think it's breast cancer, it has all of the characteristics of breast cancer."  If you have dreams, just like my massage therapist grandma, figure out what you can do today to get a little closer to what you really want in your life. 

The only thing that stands between a person 
and what they want in life is the will try try it
and the faith to believe it's possible. 

(don't know who said it)

Can you see me?  I'm in there somewhere.  : )