Celebrating the Not-Lasts

Its the end of the school year and everyone is looking forward to the last day of school. There will be many "lasts" this week. The last Monday of school. The last Tuesday of school...Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. We have already had the last programs. Coupled with the fact that we will be moving in a few weeks, the "lasts" at the end of this school year have seemed to been more poignant than in earlier years. So the actual last day of school will be the last day of this school for our kids...
All of the lasts that have been occurring over the past few weeks have started me thinking about the things before the last. We tend to celebrate the first and the last of everything. The first day of school and the last day of school are days of excitement, but the countless days in between are rarely celebrated. Opening day of baseball season is filled with anticipation and the final game of the world series is remembered, but during the middle of the season the games kind of run together.
If we aren't careful, our life becomes a monotonous drudgery of hanging on until we get to the end of something. Rarely is that type of life fulfilling. The people that inspire you don't meander through days hoping for something else - they take each day and make something good of it. Cal Ripken, Jr. didn't become one of the best known players by taking a day off because he wasn't in the mood to play that day. Brett Favre is respected by his youthful enthusiasm during each game, not just the big ones.
So instead of focusing on the last, focus on the not-lasts. Celebrate each activity, each day and make something of it. And if we do that, then when we have played our last game, we will be proud of our accomplishments.
Life as I know it is lived best when we don't wait until the end to try to live it. Make today count!