When I was a little girl, I used to hear seasoned church-goers (translated: old people) testify about how glad they were to wake up “in their right mind.” It was said and then echoed by “AMEN!” throughout the congregation. It seemed many others were glad about this “right mind” too. I never understood the full meaning of the phrase, until now in my 50’s as I’m watching my mother-in-law’s memory diminish in the unrelenting clutch of Alzheimer’s disease. And because I must admit, I’ve had far too many of my own experiences of walking purposefully into a room with no idea of why I went there. “What did I come in here to get?” I give thanks every day that I wake up with a clear understanding of who I am, what I am, and where I am. I appreciate being in my right mind.

My clear understanding of myself allows me to enjoy doing the things that I do. I’m at a place in life now, where I do very little of things I don’t want to do. That privilege has come with age. No one ever really told me that it would come to that when I got older. In fact, I have become intentional about doing more of the things I really love, and less of the things that I detest.

Realizing that life grows shorter with each new day makes me purposeful in how I spend my days.

I spend my days working a job that I love, loving a husband that I’m blessed to have, caring for an aging miniature Schnauzer, being mom to three adult children in our blended family, living in the area where I was born and raised, operating in my role as a Pastor’s wife, and as the forgiving daughter to my father with whom I’ve recently reconnected. I bedazzle all of these titles with other things I enjoy. Those things are photography, writing, dinner with friends, hosting gatherings at my home, reading, shopping, conversation while enjoying fresh air, and cooking. When I combine the titles I hold with the things I enjoy doing, it can be wonderful experiences, and look something like this: taking photos of my handsome husband, or cooking dinner for my lifelong friends. I’ve reached the point in life where the “who I am” has merged with the “what I love”. And it’s simply fantastic!