from now on, celebrate everything (m)

Last summer, I spent the day with my friend, A, who has cancer.  We had a nice day on the beach, followed by dinner at a cozy Maine restaurant/inn overlooking the ocean, and then we went into the charming little town for some shopping.  "A" had dropped quite a bit a weight from her already trim frame and I helped her select some clothes and shoes.  Because of my size, there was no clothes shopping for me.  Instead, I went into a store with a lot of knick-knacks and bought two "good luck" monkey keychains (one for her to take to chemo and one for me) as well as a sign to hang in my house.  I liked the frame and the fact that the message was in needlepoint on that blue ticking material.  It's the type of thing you hang in a summer home which we don't have.  The message was: "From Now On, Celebrate Everything."

The sign is hanging in our home opposite the boys' rooms.  I pass it about 10 times per day.

Tonight, there was a graduation party for A's daughter.  There was a moment when all the mothers in the group stood around the dance floor, watching A dance with her family.  We looked at each other and all seemed to be thinking the same thing:  how extraordinary this was considering how dire the situation looked last Fall for A.  She was here, she looked great and she was smiling and dancing.  Her kids looked like they did before this all came down....happy, carefree.  I'm sure it's a night they will never forget.

A looked over at us and we all moved onto the dance floor and started dancing.  No partners, just a bunch of middle-aged women, laughing and dancing to the music.  I've never felt more free.

From now on, celebrate everything.  Just don't forget to count the points.