Celebrate the Little Things

On the weekend, I had a book launch for When Cancer Takes Flight, a book I wrote about my cancer journey and all the experiences that comes with it. In the days leading up to the launch, I was not a fun person to be around. I worried that the books wouldn't be ready on time and they arrived the Thursday before the launch, which was on Sunday. It was close, but they did arrive. It was something to celebrate.

I worried about the weather. I ordered food for 60 people and there were quite a few people who said they would not come if the weather was bad. It was the end of November after all. When the day arrived, the great weather was something else to celebrate.

I wrote and rewrote my speech. I couldn't focus and I did everything I could to avoid working on it. In the end, on the day of the launch, I spoke from the heart, instead of from a piece of paper, and everyone seemed to hang on my every word. Who knew? I even have pictures to prove it. Being able to 'wing it' was something to celebrate. 

The irony is that although publishing a book is a huge achievement, other little things made me want to celebrate. My son and his fiancee came home for the weekend so that they could attend the launch. My other son was home too (as in not out with his friends). This meant, for the first time in a while, we were able to sit together, as a family, to talk and watch a little TV. Family is a reason to celebrate.

At the book launch, I looked at all the people in the room and realized that all these people had taken time out of their busy schedules to come to my event. Some of them had driven longer than they were actually at the event. This level of support was beyond words for me, which is not at all like me. I have a smart *ss comment for everything. Knowing that you have so many family, friends, and co-workers who are willing to support you is definitely something to celebrate. In fact, you could say that it spoke volumes. 

Sometimes we look for a big event that will bring us happiness when there are plenty of much smaller events in our lives that we should be celebrating.

---