Celebrate the Milestones

Yesterday my mother and I went out to dinner with one of my aunts to celebrate the completion of her process to obtain her doctorate degree. After years of hard work and  overcoming distractions, her ultimate goal is a reality. The only thing left to do is step across that stage and receive her degree. We promised that we would treat her to dinner when this time arrived. Well the time is now and the place was here...

If you are a true BBQ connoisseur or just love good southern home cooking, this is definitely the place to be. This is where our celebration was scheduled to happen and my reflection kicked into high gear. Must have been something in the bbq sauce!

As I sat there with my family and listened to my aunt talk about finally achieving her goal and what opportunities she hoped this would hold for her future, my mind started to wander. Why do we celebrate arriving, but forget to celebrate the milestones that lead you closer and closer to your result. Honestly, isn't that where we need the most encouragement in the journey to reach our goal? It's during this time that you experience the roller coaster of emotions. At first you are elated and focused on not allowing anything to get in your way. Then as time goes on obstacles begin to manifest, mirages off in the distance start shifting your focus and you get weary of the process. You become frustrated with the time frame, and irritated that no one is visible on the sidelines cheering you on. It's during the journey where each milestone becomes important because it means your pushing forward. Not standing still, not turning back, but moving forward. How many times do we look at reaching the goal, the end result, and don't see the greatest lesson occurred in the process.

My mind shifted back into focus, around the time the cheddar baked muffins hit the table. I came to a conclusion that we need to celebrate the milestones of life. We need to be more visible in the lives of those we care about not just to celebrate their accomplishments at the end but to cheer them on through the journey. A phone call here and there. Notice I said a phone call, not a text message. There's something about hearing the sound of a human's' voice, being able to connect the emotion that's linked to it. To detect if "good", means good or sounds like somethings hidden in between. Send a note of encouragement letting them know you're thinking of them. At the end of the school year I am almost reduced to tears when I read cards/notes from parents and students. When I wake up in the morning I go to work to do my job, it's what I'm paid to do, honestly it's what I was created to do. Just the same, to have a parent say thank you shifts my focus from the challenges to what's really important, making a difference. Even dropping by, if they're close, and swooping them off to recharge or calling to make time to schedule a break. Yes we must pay more attention to one another as we travel through life, because let's be honest we spend more time in the journey then we do at the destination. So it only makes sense to celebrate the milestones along the way.

P.S.:
Here are the entrees that were ordered that day at our celebration dinner.

pulled BBQ chicken, spicy hot links, slow cooked collards, and mac the cheese (yes "the cheese")

                         pulled BBQ chicken, pulled BBQ pork, slow cooked collards, and mac the cheese

                       slow cooked collards, cinnamon apples, creamed spinach (shared above meat)