“Don’t Wait – Celebrate You Now” by Joan Y. Edwards

Kool and The Gang Singing “Celebration” on You Tube

Play this now.

You are a gift to the world. It is essential to celebrate the little things that happen to you every day. Being happy and grateful for things will get your excitement stirred. It’s healing to celebrate. Sometimes I get excited by seeing a butterfly fly by. On the way to Ohio and back, I saw Monarch butterflies on I-77. I’m pretty sure the West Virginia Turnpike let them through without paying a toll. It’s amazing that they fly thousands of miles.

When I teach, I get excited when a light bulb goes off inside a student’s head and his eyes lit up. That is awesome.

Sometimes children and adults celebrate by saying, “Gimme Five” and slap hands way up high. What do you do with your hands when you celebrate? Do you hold them up high? Do you clap your hands?

I want you to get excited about you. I want you to celebrate your accomplishments big and small. If you celebrate the small ones, the excitement and confidence that you gain will lead you forward to the big ones for which your heart pines.

My mother lived to be 92. She used to say, “I just love living.” She was excited about living. Whether you are 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 95, or 105 I hope you smile and say, “I just love living.”

Are you stuck in a negative mood? Are you speechless and/or clueless when it comes to celebrating? Here are a few reasons to celebrate you:

Reasons to Celebrate

1. You are alive.
2. Life is precious.
3. God smiles when He looks at you.
4. Celebrate you.
5. You are able to read.
6. You are able to walk.
7. You are able to walk with a cane.
8. You are able to walk with a walker.
9. You are able to move the wheelchair yourself.
10. You can see.
11. You can see with glasses.
12. You can’t see, but you can read braille.
13. You can’t see but you have a seeing eye dog.
14. You are able to smell.
15. You can smell your breakfast cooking on the stove.
16. You can smell and feel fire.
17. You can touch things. Soft. Textured. Rough. Smooth.
18. You have a job.
19. If you don’t have a job, that you are able to fill out the application to get a job.
20. You have skills that you can use to earn money.
21. You have money.
22. You know how to save money.
23. You know how to budget money.
24. You know how to wash clothes in a washer.
25. You know how to fold and put a way clothes.
26. You can sense danger.
27. You can sense comfort.
28. You have a roof over your head.
29. You have a blanket to keep you warm.
30. You have food to eat when you’re hungry.
31. You have water to drink when you’re thirsty.
32. You have family.
33. You have friends.
34. You have respect for life.

Things to do!

1. Put fireworks in your heart.
2. Have a party.
3. Fix a special dinner.
4. Take a walk.
5. Play cards.
6. Take photographs of nature.
7. Take a ride on a bus.
8. Visit a museum.
9. Go to a car race.
10. Go to watch a high school play football.
11. Send your friend a card in the snail mail.
12. Dance in your living room.
13. Sing to the top of the roof.
14. Climb a tree and look at the world through a new perspective.
15. Go to church.
16. Read the Bible.
17. Go to a movie.
18. Watch a show on a learning channel.
19. Take a course to learn a new craft.
20. Read a book to a child.
21. Write a book for a child.
22. Go window shopping at the mall.
23. Call a friend on the phone.
24. Write a letter to your husband or wife telling them why you love them.
25. Take out the trash and items for recycling.
26. Clean out the refrigerator.
27. Help a friend do something they can’t do for themselves.
28. Teach a friend a new skill.
29. Wash the windows in your house on the inside.
30. Draw a picture.
31. Paint a picture.
32. Go to the library and check out a party book.
33. Write a poem. Check out #9 below for more ways to celebrate with poetry.
34. Skip rocks across a pond.
35. Read your favorite kind of book.
36. Listen to your favorite kind of music.
37. Copy your favorite quotes and put them on poster board on your bedroom door or bathroom door.
38. Sit and talk with your best friend without the television or radio on. Turn off the cell phones, too.
39. Walk in the rain.
40. Go to a little league baseball game.
41. Go watch your niece or nephew play soccer.
42. Say a nursery rhyme backwards.
43. Ride a bike on a safe street.
44. Look through picture albums in the house or online.
45. Swing and go down the slides at a park.
46. Walk on the beach.
47. Go on a street you’ve never traveled.
48. Start a collection.

Below are references that will give you even more ideas to have laugh, have fun, and celebrate you! You are a gift that is continually being unwrapped during your life. Add a new ribbon or two. Don’t wait. Celebrate now.

1. Christina Caldwell. Parenting. “4 Reasons to Throw an Everyday Celebration” http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/838627/4-reasons-to-throw-an-everyday-celebration
2. Days of the Year.com. Ways to celebrate each day of the year.  http://www.daysoftheyear.com/
3. Linn Carlson Knowing the majesty of God: Words of wisdom for everyday life  Dayspring Cards 2000
4. Living Life Fully.com. Celebration Quotes. http://www.livinglifefully.com/celebration.htm
5. Mackenzie Burger. “Reasons to Celebrate” http://mackenzieburger.blogspot.com/
6. Poets.org. “30 Ways to Celebrate:” http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/94
7. Tracy O Connor “Day 51: Top 10 Ways to Celebrate You:” http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/top-10-ways-to-celebrate-you-all-are-simple-especially-7/

Thank you for reading my blog. I am very glad that you are here. Please leave a comment. Let me know your favorite reasons to celebrate and how you celebrate!

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Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards

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