We will forever hold dear the moments in our lives when pure joy came from the simplest things. Perhaps you have lost someone dear to you and miss them very much, but you have those memories. No one can take that away from you.

You will hold them in your heart and memory forever. If you have had children with that person, you will see their qualities and perhaps their smiles in your children. Then there are the amazing grandchildren that you see those same traits come through. That is one of the most rewarding things in life is our family.

I get so much joy from moments that are not expected, like the giggle of a child. You can be standing in a line at a store feeling very frustrated, and hear that, and you just have to smile. It also comes from hearing two little children carrying on a conversation, and they can’t pronounce words, but yet they totally understand each other. I sometimes have to ask my one granddaughter what her sister just said, and she absolutely understood every word. Children have the power of making a bad day better by their innocence, giggles and smiles. That is pure joy that you can not put a price on.

I love when everyone is sitting around at a gathering talking about moments that have made them laugh. You might have talked about them many times, but they still bring laughter. The great thing about life is that you have an opportunity every single day to make more memories that you and yours will hold dear forever. We all take life for


granted sometimes and don’t realize how our quality of it can be taken away at any given moment. Don’t waste any day. We all have the power of making our presence in this life one that our friends and family will hold in their memories and hearts forever. In the big picture of life, we are just a grain of sand on the beach. I know I want to be the grain of sand that seems to shine a little more to people I know, and my family and friends. So get busy and make those wonderful memories, you may not have tomorrow. Pay some good forward, even if it is to a complete stranger. You’ll be glad you did.