Living Each Day as a Bonus!

This morning I used Arbonne's SeaSource Renewing Body Gelee to soothe arthritic and stiff hands at the Jefferson Retirement Community off Old Sauk Road in Middleton...  I LOVE our elderly population...they have blessed my generation and our young ones with so much wisdom and sacrifice.

Trish, the enrichment coordinator, shared a quote by a 93+ wise man/resident - "Every day I wake is a bonus!"  Shouldn't we all adopt that mindset? What are you doing with your bonus day?

What is a bonus to you? I admit, for me....it is that extra $200 in my monthly Arbonne check as I earn my District Manager bonus.  I think about that $200 and what we should use it towards...the remodel project, family vacation, bills... easy come, easy go. Right?

But what if we change our outlook on life...and see every day as a GIFT. A BONUS that God has given us yet another day to wake up, be grateful for our blessings and live and act to be a difference maker. How easy it is to take life for granted...I certainly do. When you reach your 90s, or probably even your 80s, I bet you don't take it for granted that you will wake to greet another day. Instead, you realize that every waking day is a bonus.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the day to day work load, to-do lists, chauffeuring children to and fro...I don't necessarily take the time to ponder that I actually have been given the gift of life for another day. Can you relate?  In fact, as I made the decision to quickly type and share this, I am putting off my to-do list, but this is important.... less we miss our daily bonus!

It is my desire to serve as God would have me serve, and I do hope I am making some sort of difference in this world. I guess today, I did that in a small way, by giving hand massages with one of my family's favorite products-  the Renewing Body Gelee; and treating those very dry elderly arms with ultra-hyrdrating shea butter lotion.  I plan to return to the Jefferson...and bring my "comfort in a jar" - if it only lasts a short while...it can be an unexpected bonus in some one's day.

But the REAL bonus for me today? Well, it was learning about the lives of Marge, a retired RN, or Eda - whose painting graces the activity room, or Reggie, whose achy hands and joints used to carve pieces of wood into beautiful works of art that adorn his apartment.  My bonus for today was not only waking up, but it was a gift to listen and learn from those whose lives have contributed to the enrichment of my own.

May you feel great, look great and live great - and find grace in living each day as a bonus!
Rita S.