It doesn't get any better than this, does it?

Charles Dickens had it right when he penned the verse "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times " in his Tale of Two Cities. For each good moment of our lives, there is an equally bad moment. A cosmic checks and balance act to keep each of us on an even keel. These last few weeks in my life have been a great example of that. I've gone from the highest highs to the lowest lows. (And no, it's not just hormones!)

A high was when the Red Wings finally won the Stanley Cup. They defeated both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the referees to bring the Cup back home to Hockeytown. A low was when I found out that one of my foster brothers is fighting for his life with a brain tumor. A high is that tomorrow is my 32nd birthday. A low is that I'm still single and turning 32. A high is every moment that I spend with my nieces Leah and Susie. (And the rest of my family too..) A low is that I'm still fighting Celiac Disease and will have to for the rest of my life. A high is that since 1/1/2006, I've lost 43-45 lbs. (Give or take a lb or two depending on if I've had salt or not.) A low is that I still see myself as short and fat. I can't seem get my brain to wrap around the fact that I no longer need size x-large or bigger. When I look in the mirror, I see the same person now that I was when I weighed close to 200 lbs. But I guess I see the inner me, not the outward manifestation of myself.

Enough of that morose narrative. Those of you who really know me know that I always try to find at least one good thing about every day, even if I have to make it up. I try to focus on those good things and let the everything else fall by the wayside. So, I'm going to take the highs and run with them. I'll take the highs and the lows and celebrate the fact that I get to wake up each and every morning to experience them. I'll celebrate that I have the opportunity each minute of every day to make some sort of mark on this world that I live in. So, "Carpe diem!" as they say, "Seize the day!"

As I mentioned above, tomorrow is my birthday. Yes, it's falling on Friday, the 13th. Good thing I'm not a superstitious person right? (LOL, only when it comes to hockey..) I went out and bought myself a cake to take to work in the morning. I asked around what my co-workers would like and the only request that I got was from the pregnant one who asked for "anything with frosting." Gotta love those prenatal cravings. :) My family and I are planning on combining my birthday and Father's day celebrations by going to Frankenmuth on Sunday.

Well gang, I've written yet another book. Time for me to go exercise, pack for this coming weekend, take the trash out, and the other 500 things I need to do before I can go to bed.

I'll leave you with a few more quotes from Mr. Dickens.

"Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."

"Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do it well; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself completely; in great aims and in small I have always thoroughly been in earnest."