Prologue

Tomorrow marks 100 days without my mom. My self conscious personality screams at me that some of you may be really sick of hearing my PSAs over mental health issues and suicide awareness, but then I remind myself of that silly little quote by none other than Dr. Seuss... "Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." Actually, my other half, Matt, reminded me of this. If anything, my goal is to prevent anyone I know, or can reach, from experiencing the hurt, regret, and what-ifs that my family has been through.  Through this roller coaster of a summer, I've learned that there will be good days and there will be bad days, it's ok to cry (and still laugh), and that my mom made 3 hell-a strong children. Also, its more true than ever that you don't know how much you'll miss someone until they're gone.  I've started taking more notice of the simple things in life that make me grateful, close my eyes and say a little prayer of thanks, and whisper "Hi, Mom!". The purpose of this new blog is for me to share those little things with everyone, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. There's no need to make it public as I am, but just stop and smell the roses. In this crazy world we live in, you turn on the news and hear nothing but negativity, and the public is more likely to spread bad news and reviews than share the good. My purpose here is to turn that trend around and take notice of the simple, natural beauty that can be found in every day life.

PS: Be prepared to see lots of pictures of the sky and hear stories of patients I care for at work, as those are the places I've recovered my smile most often. Also, I've never stuck to anything good for me consistently for more than a week... so my ultimate goal would be 100 days of smiles... but as I live each day...it will be one day at a time.

Thanks for checking me out.
Love,
Sam