Celebrate just because you can. Celebrate the good, celebrate the bad, celebrate because there is always some thing to be grateful for.

When my Mum was alive, we would often celebrate for no particular reason at all. I was reading a magazine just now and suddenly had this wonderful memory. We would buy this fabulous strawberry German champagne, make a nice meal and cheers ourselves; simply just because we could. And now, I am so glad we celebrated our moments together, our fun times, the ordinary days we decided to make less ordinary by celebrating being alive together.

Now that my Mum has passed away I miss these random celebratory moments immensely. I also don’t drink champagne anymore! However, the theory is great, and celebrating life just because we can is a powerful and wonderful activity, and one I encourage you to try. Gather your one or 8 loved ones, make a scrumptious meal, light some candles, decorate with fresh flowers, turn the tele off and listen to your favourite tunes. Create a fun, light and happy ambience, and simply celebrate the present moment. Because one day this too will pass.

One of my Dads favourite sayings was “these are the good old days”. I remember him saying this quite frequently when I was young, as we sat around the pool enjoying the star filled evening and peaceful quiet after a busy day of work and school. His words and wisdom was magical. And so true. They really were the good old days. Creating good memories are crucial to having a wonderful life, but so is appreciating and relishing in the ordinariness of our day to day too. Somehow for me, I miss this ordinariness from my past.

I would like to share a memory from my childhood. Saturday mornings, Dads place, Yokine, sometime in the 1980’s. The radio would be blaring the latest and greatest tunes, Dad would be sitting in his favourite chair, legs crossed, reading the paper, making notes, writing a ‘to do list’, and if I was lucky, we would make crepes for breakfast, or french toast, or a hearty fry up. He made the best Latvian thin crispy yummy crepes, and we would indulge in as many as our stomachs could take. The cat would be smooched up against the glass sliding door, pining to come inside. Dad never liked the cat inside, so I would go and play with her outside. Soon after breakfast we would perform a myriad of chores, washing, tidying, cleaning, and then shopping, and other errands, and sometimes we would go do a carpet or vinyl laying job, and I would be a star helper. These were the good old days. My routines were predictable and varied, happy, stable and fun. Although my parents raised me independently they really were the best loving parents I could ask for. They live on in me, and I aim to continue living their philosophies and habitual routines.

So celebrate the ordinary, celebrate the present moment, celebrate just because you can.

Cheers!

Love Anita xx