Now that 2012 is here . . .

Every year, I, like many others, come up with my resolution for the year. I usually don't feel very confident that I'll be able to keep the resolution, but this year, I feel very committed to mine.

I resolve to live every day like the precious blessing it is.


I decided to make a major life change in part because of something tragic that happened a few weeks ago. Megan Baab, a 19-year-old who had grown up in my church, and who I cannot remember ever seeing without a huge smile on her face and loving life, was killed when the bicycle she was riding was struck head-on by another 19-year-old who fell asleep at the wheel on his way home from college for the holidays.

This tragedy affected everyone who had ever met Megan, and several who never knew about her until her death. An avid bicyclist, we all believed that we would see Megan's name become well known in the national cycling community. Over 300 people showed up for a memorial ride the weekend after her death - among them my husband.

It was the day of the ride that my resolution came to me. The only thing that had kept me from joining my husband on that ride was that I am so out of shape. Just a few years ago, I had spent my 40th birthday happily peddling up and down the hills of eastern Kansas after having spent the previous week bicycling from the Colorado border across the state. What had happened to me that I couldn't even go on a 25 mile ride to honor this huge loss?

That day, I realized that Megan was given 19 precious years on this Earth and she had lived each day as fully as she could. She died doing the one thing she loved most. If I have already been given another 27 years more than Megan, then why am I throwing it away by getting out of shape, gaining weight, and not having time for my family?

I'm firmly committed to making sure that make 2012 the best, one day at a time. Exercising, eating right, taking time to read, taking time to spend quality time with my family, taking time to enjoy being silly - so that each day becomes a tribute and a day of thanksgiving for the blessings I am given.