Living With No Regrets!!

That’s my new motto! In the last year, I’ve come to realize how important it is to live each day to its fullest – on purpose – making the most of the moments, the hours and the days that God gives me!

We’ve all made statements like, “I wish had done this or I wish I had done that” or “I wish I had NOT done this or…. that”…..after the fact! It’s the season of Lent, and during this time, we do a lot of introspection and self- evaluation of what we could be doing better with our lives, and, in fact, what could be purged from our lives that really doesn’t make us better. In other words, why not “live with no regrets”?



My daughter, Vice President of Corporate Training for a company in Dallas, has a beautiful office in the company headquarters, thanks to the grandiose ideas she conveyed to me, and then the two of us set out on a mission to accomplish that vision. We decorated that office “on purpose” – the color scheme that was selected was “caliente red”. She wanted the environment to be conducive to energy and excitement. Placement of the furniture was extremely important, as she wanted employees and visitors to feel welcomed and relaxed. And, the pictures and accessories were carefully selected in order to generate conversation, as well as for letting everyone know what really is important to her. One specific wall was for family photos, above which are the words: “Every Day Holds a Possibility For a Miracle”; on another wall was a huge marker board for her to use for training and/or idea generation, and then there’s two areas where she wanted to memorialize and honor her Dad.



Just two days after my Honey’s homegoing celebration and memorial service, over 35 of our family and friends ran/walked the 5K, or the half or the full Route 66 Marathon. In honor of that occasion, we mounted on another wall a photo of Ron, a Route 66 plaque with the photo of our group and the Tulsa World newspaper clipping. That marathon was an “on-purpose” feat for us – since my Honey, who was paralyzed from the waist down, in his last month of life, couldn’t run, we were going to do what we could do – and we accomplished the “Run for Ron”, which raised thousands of dollars which so blessed us and enabled us to take care of a lot of medical expenses. That wall is a precious reminder of so much love that went out from our friends and family.

So when we were looking for the final accessory and motivation statement for the entire room/office, we just happened to come across a World War II airplane picture with the words on it, “Live With No Regrets”! It was just what we were looking for – the final “exclamation point” on the room/office. And, since then, I’ve adopted that to be the exclamation point for my life as well.



My son is a 26-mile Marathon Runner. Last year, he ran five marathons, and this month, again, he’ll be running the highly acclaimed Boston Marathon. He has a Duke University Trainer who has methodically and strategically guided him through knee problems and other injuries to be the runner-on-purpose that he is today. It was such a tribute to our family, when his trainer, Gracie Updyke, from Raleigh, North Carolina, joined us and cheered us all on for our Route 66 Marathon last November. Being the trainer, you-can-do-anything motivator and cheerleader that she is, I received a text message from her just a few weeks after that 5K saying, “Are you ready to do the half-marathon now?” Mind you, the 5K was the first of its kind I’ve ever done. Now, she was asking me to up-my-game and do the half-marathon! What was this girl thinking? HELLLOOOO!!! You’re talking to a 62-year old grandma – not a 16-year old teenager!

• Then, I looked at my cell phone wallpaper – which is a photo of my Honey giving me the thumbs up – and each time I see that photo, I hear him saying to me, “You can do this!” – Check!

• Next, was finding the next close-to-home marathon – it’s the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on May 1st. I committed. I registered. Check!

• Gracie started me on my training and work-outs on February 14th. It started with a mere 45 minutes run/walk , then to 2 miles, 3 miles, 4 miles, 5 miles, 8 miles and 10 miles. Tomorrow, when I get home from vacation with my family, I’ll run the 12 miles. I will make it…… I will continue until I finish this – not win it – finish it. I’m doing this for my Honey….but I’m still here….I will do it for me. I WILL Live With No Regrets! Check!