Make it count.





As I sit here at my desk, watching the rain fall and listening to the music of  Chopin and contemplating the funeral of a 17 year old classmate of my own child, I begin to reflect. Funerals are the end all finale of a life lived. It is where the emergency break on our own mortality gets pulled hard and fast and we begin to think about our lives differently. It's inevitable that we will question our purpose in life while honoring the life of someone no longer physically with us. It's inevitable that our souls will weep. Funerals are difficult but as much as they are difficult, they can be inspiring.

Today I attended the celebration of life of a 17 year old classmate of my son. He was taken far too soon from us and the heartache that filled the room was all consuming. As I looked around the church, I saw this young man's soccer team in full uniform, I saw his basketball team in uniform, I saw his Boy Scouts troop, in uniform, and lastly the whole entire marching band from his high school was present ~ with instruments. 

The pastor stated that he was breaking the rules of a regular funeral by having the marching band play in this young man's honor. They played his two favorite songs: Barbara Ann and Sweet Child of Mine. His trumpeting partners wound up the service by getting up in front of all of us and with their brave hearts, they played Taps. The ultimate anthem of respect, loyalty and honor of a life lived.

This young man, in his short 17 years of life, made an impact on the world around him. He was involved in life. He was kind, helpful, witty, adventurous and brilliant and everyone who crossed his path were better for doing so. I got to thinking about it all. Isn't the goal of life to live it to it's fullest? To harness who we are and go after what fills our hearts, minds and bodies and soul with what inspires us? Isn't it the end goal to live a life well lived and hope to inspire those around us to do the same? 



No interaction is a little interaction. It's powerful and has impact.

 Often times we forget our own power ( guilty as charged) and lose sight of our worth in who we are, what we do and how we do it. 

No experience is too small or too mundane that we ought not call it living ~ sometimes our experiences may be painful and hard to understand but at the end of the day, we are learning and living. The key here is to see the potential in every moment. 

So, here I go again, another travel blog gone sappy and introspective but in the spirit of Viva la Vida Travel, I honor and cherish all journeys. We have one life to live and the most we can do to honor the life given to us is to live the best life we can live. This young man, only 17 years old, lived his life to it's fullest and as we laughed and cried at his celebration of life, I was stricken with the thought of how will I live the rest of  my days out? Will people remember me? Will I have made an impact on those around me for the better? Will I be able to shed this body a free spirit knowing I have done all that I was capable of doing? 

I will never know the answer to those questions until I get to the end of my days, but I can tell you this:
I will soak in the suns rays.
I will watch the light dance off of the leaves and marvel at their beauty.
I will sing with the birds.
I will feel the joys of life and know that hope lives on.
I will hug people more.
I will follow my heart and my soul and listen to their calls to be heard.
I will laugh more.
I will wipe the tears of others with my own hands and feel their strength through their tears.
I will cry, both in sorrow and in joy.
I will live fully in my being.
I will love more.



So, in honor of Joey, I want to thank your parents for creating such a beautiful soul and I want to honor you, Joey, for being 100% unapologetically you and inspiring those around you to live a life of passion, dignity, and authenticity. 

Enjoy your journey people. Hug your loved ones. Hug strangers ( not in a weird way). Take risks. Follow your heart and don't let life live you ~ grab it by the horns and live it the way you were meant to. 

Viva la Vida. 







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