Carpe Diem
“I can’t just fly to Germany for the weekend?”
“Why not?” he said.
And so I did.
Cheers to 52 from the top of the world.
“Fortune favors the bold” dates back before the birth of Christ and people have been chasing adventures and opportunities longer than that. “Carpe Diem,” “seize the day,” doesn’t date back as far, but it gives us a glimpse of what the Romans were trying to communicate and that was to live and embrace life. Find your passions, embrace every opportunity, and tackle that trail.
Now that sounds easy, and maybe a bit easier when you are younger because risk is easily mitigated but the first time, I vividly remember seizing an opportunity was when I was offered a chance to be assigned in Germany.
I called my Mom, and she said, “Never say “no” to an opportunity.” And I have deliberately done that ever since that conversation. Now, I am not suggesting that didn’t happen before I was 37, but there was a “lightbulb” moment, and, from that point on, I did my best to not be too tired, too broke, too lazy, or too full of excuses not to do something. I find it quite easy to get to yes, to Break Trail.
I turned 52 last month on top of the Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany. I made the decision a week before when my friend Christine mentioned she was going to a housewarming party for our friend, Hannah.
“I wish I could be there.” I noted in front of my husband Kenny.
He looked at me and said, “Why don’t you go?”
“I can’t just fly to Germany for the weekend?”
“Why not?”
And in those moments, I reflected and wondered, what was holding me back from jumping on a plane and spending the weekend with two dear friends.
It was also my birthday weekend which aligned nicely, and I decided I would spend it, on top of the world…well…on top of Germany, at least. And it was perfect!
As I sat up there, reflecting on the majestic beauty and this seized opportunity, I realized that I had had some memorable birthdays.
I turned 30 on the road to Baghdad as a company commander during the ground invasion into Iraq in 2003. I was the only female commander in 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, the “Send Me” Brigade. Women were not allowed to be “assigned” to combat brigades in 2003, so they assigned us to another unit and then moved us with the combat brigade. This was a #breaktrail moment for many of us.
Turning 40 was a much more regal affair. This time I had just returned from a deployment to Afghanistan, the month prior, and Ken surprised me with dinner at the Marostica Castle in Northern Italy famed for its human chess board. Legend has it that two men fell in love with the Lord’s daughter and, to keep both men in favor, the Lord had the men play a public game of chess. The winner married his eldest daughter and the other his youngest. The village hosts a human chess game every other year.
The very best birthday was the day I turned 43. It was the day Kenny redeployed from Afghanistan, his third deployment, back into my arms. Every military spouse prays for the day their Soldier returns and I couldn’t have wished for a better birthday or gift.
Sometimes we have no control over these things, and I have found the boldest adventures can bring the sweetest rewards.
I am not suggesting the path is not challenging but the reward, like the view from a climb, shadows the hard parts and illuminates the beauty.
50 came the year I retired from active service. When my oldest was born in 2004, I had bought this book, “500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up” and Tromso, Norway was a destination we had planned many times but struggled to make happen, until now. Sleeping in an ice hotel under the Northern Lights was magnificent, and very, very cold. Ha!
As I pet the reindeer, snowshoed the hills, and mushed the dog sleds, I looked around at the beauty of the arctic circle and glad I had braved the elements for the opportunity to experience it.
It was bold, cold, and a gentle or maybe harsh reminder to say yes to the opportunities, seize the days and not just the birthdays.
