Wow! What A Ride!

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!” ~ Hunter S. Thompson

I have lived in the beautiful state of Utah for almost 54 years. And I love it here. Every time I fly into this happy little valley, it feels like HOME to me. I feel safe here. It’s familiar and predictable and manageable. I know, and I am known. Which is precisely why, when my 12-Year-Old asked to play hockey for 6 weeks in Denver, I said YES. I said yes, and had no idea what that meant, or how we would work it out, but I knew it was the right answer. I knew because of the smile on his face, and the way my heart started beating with a little more life. Unfamiliar, unpredictable, and exciting.

Fast forward, now he has been in Denver for three weeks. It’s happening. We’re home schooling him, and he’s playing hockey every day a level above what he can play here. He is thriving. Watching him walk into the ice arena with that huge bag, all by himself for his first ever AAA game sealed the deal for me. The sacrifices are great, but Team Druce is living the quote above…What A Ride!

So for anyone who has gotten caught up in the familiar, the mundane, the unchanging and unchallenging…I say

Jump out of that Rut!

You don’t have to uproot your family or quit your job. Just stretch yourself for a good cause. Try one of these on for size:

• Put one thing on the books that you have been putting off…Skydiving? Biking in Europe? Guitar lessons?
• Do something big for a child, a spouse or a friend who has big dreams. Help them make something BIG happen.
• Stop writing your Senator and round up a group of friends and go see him/her in person.
• Stop watching sports on TV and get out and coach a team. The Boys and Girls Clubs are always begging for coaches.
• Instead of dropping a dollar in the bucket for your favorite charity, ask what you could do to serve for a day.
• Cook something exotic and invite the neighbor over for a meal
• What are your ideas???

If it gives you butterflies, makes your palms sweaty, or makes you feel like you’re going to pee your pants, you’re on the right track.

Friends, this is your life. YOUR LIFE. What a shame it would be if tomorrow was just like today. Or next year was just like this year. Don’t keep life to yourself. The best thing we can do with these short 80-or-so years is to give them away. Make a difference. Do it now, today. And feel your heart start beating with a little more life…