Living
2006-03-14, 5:47 a.m.

Janet,

I want you to see what life can be like, what it has been like for me. Don�t hide in the shadows, don�t let life become a grey canvas with no light or shadows. Seek it out, remember where you�ve been and all that is left to see.

I have seen the chasm of the Grand Canyon, the width and height of sequoias and redwoods, the sheer beauty of Half Dome, the red dirt of Mississippi, the emptiness of a Texas highway, the cornfields of Iowa and Kansas, the rugged crags of Pike�s Peak. I have fought the currents of the Long Island Sound and triumphed over the riptides of the Newport Coast. I have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and stood at the top of the World Trade Center.

I have bottle-fed newborn lambs in Norway, touched Roman ruins in Germany, eaten chocolate in Switzerland, crossed bridges in Austria, drank wine in Germany, watched fireworks on the Seine in Paris, eaten snails in France, crossed the English Channel, stood on the same land where my great-grandmother used to walk in Ireland, drank a pint in Dublin, watched babies take their first breaths and loved ones take their last breaths.

I have waited patiently as physical ailments took their time to heal, and sought help for emotional ailments that didn�t seem to want to heal. I have loved and lost and learned to love again. I have had coffee on the Space Needle in Seattle, lost money in Vegas, held alligators in the Louisiana Bayou.

I have seen the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center, watched the Rockettes dance, ushered in the new year in Greenwich village. I have seen the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, Fonzie�s Jacket, Dorothy�s Ruby Red slippers. I have milked a cow in Ohio and watched deer grazing in Wisconsin. I have backpacked in the Sierras, hiked in the Alps and climbed trees in a Canadian rain forest.

I have swam in the ocean and played in the snow. I have buried my feet in the sand and eaten fresh snow that was cold in my mouth. I have written poems and read novels. I have seen the Mona Lisa and the Eiffel Tower. I have walked on the streets of big cities and lonely country roads. I have cared for homeless women and shaken the hands of famous men and women.

I have sailed in the Atlantic and the Pacific. I have seen the Black Forest and the Purple Mountains and miles of trees stretched across the Pennsylvania landscape like a blanket. I have tasted strawberries and butter and pancakes and asparagus. I have read novels and seen plays.

I have been so sick I thought I would not recover and so full of life I thought I was invincible. I have jumped off of cliffs and rolled down hills giggling. I have changed diapers and wiped noses and comforted babies. I have gotten lost and found my own way back. I have fallen down and found a hand to help me up.

I have two legs that move me, two arms that can hold me, two ears that hear music and laughter, two eyes that see raindrops and the color blue, I can taste chocolate and smell strawberries. I have flown across oceans, driven across the country, taken a train across California, pedaled my bike across the county and walked across town.

I have been angry and frustrated and mad and happy and ecstatic and alive and sometimes all within the same hour. I have had good night�s sleep and bad night�s sleep. I have woken early because I had to go to work or class and woken up early because I had somewhere fun to go explore. I have stayed up late writing papers and I have stayed up late going to midnight movies or because I was reading a book I just couldn�t put down..

I have had an amazing family, horrible boyfriends and the best friends anyone could have. I have seen it. I have been there. I have done that. And some of it I am glad to leave behind and some of it I can�t wait to do again. Although there are things that I�ve never done, and things that I hope I never do again, there have been enough of the riches of life to satisfy me.

I have lived almost 38 years and I can say that I have lived them all. I am sure that my life is not even half over and I tremble with excitement at what the next 38 plus years will bring. There are still so many things in this world I have never done and places I have yet to see. But that just leaves things to keep me busy for the rest of my life.

I want the same thing for you.

last - next