A Good Reminder: What I Chose For My Custom Bangle

Did You Guess Right?

I have to say, it was a nice little surprise to get something in the mail, other than bills.

It was even nicer because it was my custom sterling bangle.  Remember, I told you about it last week......I won it from Sima G in a giveaway hosted by my blogging pal Diana over at exPress-o. Sweet!

All I had to do was decide what I was going to have Sima stamp on my bangle.  So many choices, but in the end I went with...........drum roll please...................... (Debbi, you got it!)

I thought it would be a great daily reminder to make the most of each day.

It's perfectly wonderful.  Thanks again Diana and Sima!

I also think that this little wrist reminder is especially powerful on this 1 year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. In the background of my studio, I have one of our Boston stations on and they have extended coverage today with many stories from survivors.  Survivors like Marc Fucarile who lost one leg, is burned extensively over the other, had serious damage to his ear drums, and was the last survivor to leave Spaulding Rehabilitation Center.  He has since had to undergo two other surgeries and the doctors are trying to save his remaining leg, but it is still in question as to whether that will be the outcome. He experiences excruciating pain and the burns he suffered have further complicated his healing. 

In an interview a reporter asked Marc and his fiancee Jen if they were nervous about the marathon next week and attending any of the events that will be held for the survivors. Jen answered immediately and said that she was definitely nervous,  "I'll never be as carefree as I used to be."  The other day Jen went to leave their apartment, but when she got to the elevator there was a bin in it. She went back to their apartment and said to Marc, "There is a bin in the elevator. I'm not getting in there."

It turns out somebody was simply moving and the bin was theirs, but the story illustrates how their lives have forever changed. Marc takes it all in stride and says he's not particularly nervous about Marathon day, to the chagrin of Jen who says 'I don't think everything has set in for him yet.' Marc responds, "No. I do. I just choose not to live in the past. If I 'live' in that day, I can't move forward and I want to move forward."  Marc then proceeds to lift his prosthetic leg (which is attached) up , turn it one 180 and put it over his shoulder and behind his ear and says with a chuckle, "how many people do you know who can do that?"

Theirs is just one story of resilience after surviving the bombings. Just one of many.

Then there are the stories of the four people who lost their lives as result of the bombings and ensuing melee - 23-year-old Lu Lingzi, 8-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old spectator Krystle Campbell and MIT officer Shawn Collier. God rest their souls.

live . love . laugh

The kind of reminder we really shouldn't need, but the reality is that sometimes we do.

Make it a great day today. It's a great day to have.

Ciao for now,