happiness...

is sooo important. i believe everyone should be happy. don't settle. stand up for yourself and your beliefs. life is too short to focus on the negatives. always try to see the good. yes, i know this is difficult. especially for me since i am such a pessimist... don't dwell on the past and what could have been. live in the now. for the future.
why this topic? why now? because my uncle passed away yesterday. he was a sweet, crazy, and loving man. young. only 60...no one saw this coming. but i guess it is rare that you do. maybe being in the profession i am in lead me to think that we should have some sort of warning...but it doesn't always happen that way.
i started thinking about how he lived life. he marched to his own drummer. did what he wanted no matter what anyone else thought. he was being true to himself. take this example...he wore new balance tennis shoes at my wedding. no biggie, right? well, he was an usher. in a tux. with gym shoes. thus earning himself the affectionate nickname 'sneaks'. when asked about the shoes, he would proudly reply that he went out and bought a new pair just for our wedding! i loved it. totally caught everyone off guard and hopefully made them think!
so, today as i thought about him, life, and a zillion other things i told myself i wanted to live life for me and no one else. now just because i'm saying this doesn't mean that i'm living for someone else. i simply want to remember to keep this in focus. to never forget who i am. to strive to be a better, more open person. i'm not saying that i don't want to compromise either. that i won't do things for others. i will try to do only those things that i am comfortable with and negotiate where needed.
honestly, i am truly happy. i love my life and all the craziness that comes with it! yes, we all have those bad days but who doesn't? sometimes i think those bad days happen to remind us to be grateful for the good. and sometimes i think the bad grounds us. reminds us that life isn't always perfect and we can't expect it to be.
so this was for you uncle bob. we all love and miss you! :)