Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they
= haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know
it = was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going
to = lunch in a half hour? " She would gasp and stammer, "I can't. I
have = clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known
yesterday. I had = a late breakfast. It looks like rain." And my
personal favorite: "It's = Monday." She died a few years ago. We never
did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our
= headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves
when = all the conditions are perfect! We'll go back and visit the
grandparents = when we get Stevie toilet-trained. We'll entertain when
we replace the = living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon
when we get two more = kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter,
and = the list of promises to ourselves gets longer.

One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a
litany = of "I'm going to", "I plan on" , and "Someday, when things are
settled = down a bit."

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure
= and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her =
enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes,
and = you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades
and skip = an elevator for a bungee cord. =20

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's =
just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula
= and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car
and = bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way
home, I = would have died happy. =20

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not =
something on your SHOULD DO list.

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could
make, = who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this
to = you.

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to
the = rain lapping on the ground? =20 Ever followed a butterfly's
erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the = fading night? =20

Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask "How are you?" Do
= you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with
the = next hundred chores running through your head? =20 Ever told your
child, "We'll do it tomorrow." And in your haste, not see = his sorrow?
Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say = "Hi"?
When you worry and hurry through your day, It is like an unopened
gift....Thrown away...

Life is not a race. Take it slower.

Hear the music before the song is over. =20

It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send
= this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.

If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

Thanks for being my friends.