De-pressing

Last night, I sat down to write up a blog post dedicated to my first born, Sara, who turned sweet sixteen yesterday, but before I got started I got a little distracted by my blogroll. You people have a funny way of doing that...anyway, as I started to peruse, I got caught in the blog vacuum and started scoping out your blogrolls, and before I knew it, I found myself

here.

It wasn't hard. Half a million people have this lovely lady on their blogroll. In fact, I once did myself, but when our computer crashed, I had to upload everything once again and several of my old favorite blog sites fell by the wayside. Hers was one of them. So imagine my surprise when I pull up her blog and find that not only is she back in full force, she appears to be hiking mountains and riding bikes and driving places and taking some amazing, heart-rending pictures and writing from her soul.

When have I ever truly done that?

Now, don't take this post title for granted. Most people connotate that word with ... well.... negative thoughts. I can't deny that some of Nie's words had some of that affect on me, but the more I read, the more I realized this one fundamental truth:

The Universally Accepted Definition for that word is WRONG.

Think about it: when something is "pressing", it usually means it is weighing you down. Or you are applying a downward force upon another object.

...THEREFORE...

....if something is "de-pressing", it should mean the opposite, right?

Whatever was weighing you down is no longer an issue!

BEING DEPRESSED IS A GOOD THING!

Okay. I know it's a stretch. Call me an Eternal Optimist, or whatever, but today, I'm taking a stand. There have been so many fatalities and traumas and politically life-threatening situations occur in so many peoples' lives of late.... here, for one.....and then, from there you go to this blog.... and no one should be a widow at such a young age, but my young friend is recovering nicely... I could go on and on.

But I won't. I'm so grateful for life, as fragile as it is, and I realize that every day is a gift. Instead, I am going to focus and concentrate on preparing for a Sweet Sixteen Bash that will rival many wedding receptions I've attended recently, and I will dedicate tomorrow's post to Sara instead.

"Joy is very infectious; therefore, be always full of joy."
MOTHER TERESA