An Extra Day

How often do we wish for one extra day? I know I've felt that way near the end of a good vacation when I've wanted just one more day of relaxation. Perhaps it was while on a honeymoon or while having a great time with friends and family. In crunch time at work, I know I've often wished for one more day to get things done and get caught up.

I realized yesterday that I've been given the gift of one more day for this year. Instead of the standard 365 days to use, we have 366 due to leap year. It may not seem like much since the calendar keeps rolling along, but the truth is there is still one more day in 2016 than in 2015.

How should I spend this gift? Leap day has already passed me by, but that doesn't mean I can't take advantage of another day in the future and do something special with it. What do I do with this gift? What's the best thing I can do to take advantage of an extra 24 hours this year? I don't want to take it for granted and just let it pass me by. These don't come around every year after all.

The Final Countdown

What would you do if you found out you only had three years to live? While we might think about tackling our “bucket list” of activities or quitting our jobs, I really believe we would extra emphasis on the things that would last.

What decisions would you make to shape your legacy? What important things would you pass on to your children? How would you prepare for their future? With a limited time frame to spend with the people you care about we would have to be very intentional.

Do we really need to wait until we believe the end is near to make these decisions? We all have a limit on our remaining time, but we don’t know what that limit is. If we want to have a lasting, positive impact we should start making those decisions today.

Today's the Day

We spent the day with our girls out of town on my weekly day off. It's a trip we had talked about a couple of months ago and intentionally scheduled for today . We went tubing down a river, had a picnic lunch, walked around a town while window shopping, took photo booth pictures, and listened to music while playing car games on the way home. It was a perfectly timed day spent with the four most important ladies in my life and one I desperately needed.

Time with family is essential to my health and while I value the small daily and weekly interactions, these trips are very important as well. I've just got to make sure to plan them out so they happen more frequently for all of us to enjoy. I wouldn't have traded anything for today and the reminders of what matters most. Even the small memories we make have tremendous value.

Too Fast

Today was my day off, but ended up being filled with activities and necessary chores. As a bonus to the busyness I was given the gift of spending some of this afternoon with my oldest daughter, Lindsay. We

dropped her sisters off for an overnight middle school event, grabbed some Starbucks, and did some grocery shopping. It wasn't a fancy afternoon, but one that simply brought me joy. We talked about nothing, laughed, shared some wisdom, and just enjoyed each other's company. I could have sat around the house and read or watched a movie, but I wouldn't trade a few hours with my girl for anything. All three of my daughters are incredible gifts to us and I don't want to waste any opportunity we have together. The time of all us under one roof is growing too short to miss out on quality experiences with each other.