Celebrate the moments of your life

Today, I feel like celebrating. I want to open my 2001 bottle of
Orvieto Classico wine and enjoy it with some really good Italian food
and revel in my memories of our first trip to Italy three years ago.
The drinking of the wine will have to wait until after the baby is
born, but I just feel the need to hear the familiar sound of a cork
being freed from it's bottle of vintage. That popping sound is the
heralding of good tidings and joy and I want to rejoice.

Ever since Doug and I got engaged on December 13, 1997 we've made it a
priority to celebrate all the special moments in our lives with
champagne or wine and we save all of our corks as reminders of happy
times. Every once in a while I look through our collection of corks
and remember all the little things we've celebrated because we've
labeled each cork with a date and occasion to remind us.

It's important to rejoice over happy events because it makes life so
much richer and special for the people you love. When I grew up I was
raised as a Jehovah's Witness and we didn't celebrate anything. It
made for a boring year of days that weren't special and nothing was
ever celebrated. Birthdays, holidays, and special accomplishments
passed by without notice or mention and it made me feel sad. There's
nothing more depressing than seeing everyone having a great time at
Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and on birthdays knowing that you are
forbidden to take part in the fun. It was not the life for me.

Leaving home and moving to live with my Grandparents was the best thing
that ever happened to me because it opened my eyes to a different
existence. At my Grandfather's home there was laughter, abundance of
food and always a reason to celebrate or have a party. I quickly
learned that money and a positive outlook on life made a huge
difference.

Less than an hour after walking off the plane I was sitting in a
restaurant with my Grandfather, his wife Ernestine and their two sons
and they were toasting to my moving to California. No one had ever
toasted to me before, I was astonished, but hopeful for more happy
times. Quietly though, I felt a bit guilty for my newfound good
fortune because I knew that my family in Idaho were not having the same
experience and I felt sad for them because I was going to spend my
first real holiday season with people who knew how to enjoy themselves.

Sometimes it's hard to let go of "family guilt." Family guilt is all
that baggage that you carry around and don't know how to get rid of.
I've done a pretty good job of shedding most of my family guilt, but
some remains without much impact on my life. The remnants serve to
remind me of my upbringing and give me the resolve to make my life as
fulfilling as I can. I often reflect on these remnants and use them as
a guide to be a better person.

So, I feel like celebrating for being happy about being pregnant and
looking forward to a new baby. I feel lucky to have a wonderful
husband who is truly kind, loving and respectful. I feel a great sense
of joy that my prayers were answered and that I was lucky enough to see
the wish fulfilled. I feel like celebrating all of life's special
moments in order to live a lifetime of something wonderful instead of
an existence of nothing special.