lifeistooshortnottohavefun Archives - Page 2 of 13 - Inspired & Strong

Life is Hard

August 6, 2025 No Comments

Over the past few years, I have seen many friendships change. And I have come to realize that life is busy. We are all busy. We all have too much to do and too many places to go. But what I do know if you have true friendship, you are never too busy. There are always five seconds in a day to say hello, even if you haven’t talked to them in three months. If you want to continue the relationship, you make the effort. And if it is true friendship that it will stand the test of time and months of not talking but when someone reaches out or when you get together, it’s like no time has passed at all.

Life is already hard. And I don’t want to be around people who make it even harder. I need people who feel like home, who bring comfort, calm, and a sense of peace. That’s the kind of energy I need in my life.

~ Robert Wilkinson

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

In Pilot's Wife

Fourth of July

July 9, 2025 No Comments

This past weekend, My Heart and I spent a few days on a ranch in Norwood, CO, which is just outside Telluride. We were invited by a couple we have known for a few years, but have gotten closer with since our summer, and then move to Park City. They always have a gathering of friends for the July Fourth holiday.

Although My Prince had been away at work, and came home for a day, we decided to pack up the Harley and make the six-hour drive from Park City to Norwood for the Fourth of July instead of staying home. We knew we needed to pack for warm days and cool nights.

Although it was a bit chilly, it was a beautiful ride. We did get rained on for the last 30 minutes, which was a bit miserable. But we made it.

When we got there, everyone was hanging out in the house waiting for the raindrops to go away. Our hosts were welcoming and showed us to our camper. We changed out of our rain gear and started meeting the wonderful people who were there for this Fourth of July celebration.

Finally, the rain stopped, and we were able to hang out by the cabin and the fire. The kids made s’mores and roasted marshmallows. The adults chatted the night away. Finally, it was bedtime.

The next morning, we headed to downtown Telluride for the Fourth of July Parade down Main Street. My Valentine and I rode the bike to town and again saw some amazing views. The town is quaint and straight out of a movie. People lined each side of the road waiting for the parade to start. The highlight that everyone was waiting for would come at noon when the Colorado Air National Guard would do a flyby in their F-16’s. And let me tell you, those jets came out of nowhere! They flew right over Main Street, then up the side of the mountain. It was awesome.

After the parade was over, we headed to the park to find some food and listen to a few bands. It ended up being a beautiful sunny Fourth of July day.

That afternoon, we packed up and headed back to the ranch. We had dinner and gathered around the Cabin again. I was exhausted and soon headed to bed. My need for sleep outweighed my FOMO.

The next morning, we said our goodbyes and headed out on the motorcycle. Our friends suggested a beautiful ride through Rico, CO. It added almost two hours to our trip, but was well worth it. We stopped at the cutest cafe, called Fireweed, which is owned by the daughter of one of our friends. We had a delicious breakfast and continued our journey home through Moab. The views were breathtaking.

Our friends who own the ranch, as well as most of the people we spent the Holiday with, are in the airline industry. What is amazing is how small the airline industry is. We met a woman from Arizona who invited us to her house. We met two more couples from Park City, whom we hope to play golf with and spend more time together this summer. It is amazing how you can meet people and just click.

Although most of these people have had beautiful friendships for 20 years, they welcomed us right in. They made us feel at home. We all shared stories around the campfire as we got to know each other better. We laughed and made memories for years to come.

I hope you realize it’s never too late to meet new friends. It’s never too late to come out of your comfort zone and meet new people. It’s never too late to make new memories. I hope your Independence Day was as special as ours.

In Family

Beach, Booze, and Besties

June 11, 2025 No Comments

Every other year or so, my amazing girlfriends from childhood come to Florida for a long weekend in the middle of their snowy Pennsylvania winter. Usually, they are tired of the cold, gray, and snow by February. Therefore, they ask if I am in town and book a flight. Sometimes My Prince is town to take us on the boat; sometimes he is not. Either way, it’s a weekend full of the beach, booze, and besties.

I have known these three beautiful ladies since kindergarten. We have gone through everything together, including puberty, first dances, first kisses, and first loves. We have gone through heartbreak, loss, disappointment, and death. And our friendship is still as strong as ever.

Their visit was a last-minute trip. They called and said, “Are you in town in two weeks?” It happened to be the one weekend I was in town, so of course, I said, “YES!!” I was so excited they were coming, and I couldn’t wait for the beach, some booze, and my besties. My hubby had to work; therefore, we decided to make it a girls’ weekend. One of these days, we will get the boys down here, too.

What was so wonderful about the weekend was that we all know each other so well. There was no pressure to do anything or be anywhere. We hung by the pool and played cards (euchre). We talked about how we learned to play euchre in middle school from older men who were not even in high school anymore. At the time, we didn’t think anything of it. Now, I couldn’t imagine my seventh-grade niece hanging with a bunch of guys in their 20s. Why did our parents let us do that? In the end, it was innocent, harmless, and a lot of fun. I think because our town is small, our parents knew them. And all the men knew my grandfather would put a hurting on anyone who did anything to his granddaughter. Plus, I had the key to the gym, and if they wanted to play basketball, they needed to let me play, so I knew them all anyway.

The weekend of beach, booze, and besties, we played several games of euchre, taking turns with different partners. My girlfriend, Dani, was the master of the game, and whoever was her partner was on the winning team. We drank a few drinks and even pulled out the shot ski. We had so much fun reminiscing that we laughed until we cried.

I love being around these ladies and enjoyed spending a whole weekend with them. It felt like home. It reminds me of the sleepovers we had as kids, although we didn’t eat ice cream with Doritos for breakfast this time (maybe next year:)). Even though we are all different and have gone down unique paths, what holds us together is the bond we formed when we were younger. We love and respect each other. We value each other’s opinions. We want to continue growing in our knowledge of the world and our friendship. We genuinely care about each other’s happiness and well-being. And of course, we love the beach, booze, and being besties.

We don’t have to talk every day or even every week. A text here and there when we miss each other or see something funny is perfect. We get together when we can, we cherish the memories, and we are sad when the weekend comes to an end.

I hope that you have friends in your life who make your heart happy. I hope that those friendships are easy and fulfilling. I hope that you never take your friendships for granted. And I hope our friends know they can reach out to us anytime and say, “Are you in town? Are you ready for some beach, booze, and besties?”

In Family

Seven Years

May 7, 2025 No Comments

Today marks seven years since we lost my sister. I can’t believe she’s been gone that long. Sometimes it’s hard to believe she’s gone at all. I look back at the pictures of the kids, and they are so tiny. How did this happen?

Seven years. So much has changed. And to anyone who has lost someone, time keeps moving on, but sometimes you feel stuck in the same place. Sometimes you can’t get past the hurt and the grief. Sometimes you are just going through the motions, but you’ve lost all sense of feeling and purpose.

Yes, death is a gut punch. It hurts like hell, and you can’t breathe. But somehow you have to work through that grief and live a life your loved one would be proud of.

Seven years. Some days it hurts more than others, and some days you realize that they are right there by your side no matter what. This past weekend, I was in Pennsylvania hanging out in the kitchen with my cousin and some friends. You know you always end up in the kitchen, even though there are plenty of other, more comfortable places to go! But throughout the weekend, there was a parade of cardinals. I believe three females and a male or two. My whole family stopped by to say hello! I couldn’t believe it. Usually, there is one or two that will stop by, but this was amazing!

Even yesterday in Florida, I looked out my window and a red blur flew by. My people are everywhere, and I have to believe they are saying, I may be gone, but I am flying. It is peaceful. It’s time for you to be peaceful, too.

So, little sis, it’s been seven years, and I miss you like crazy. I am so proud to be an aunt, and I love your children like they were my own. They are the best little people, and I know you are guiding them as they grow. Tell everyone hello from us and keep on visiting. It’s my favorite thing.

In Travel Junkie

Ski Journey

March 18, 2025 No Comments

As you know I started ski journey when I met My Valentine. Skiing is his passion, and I wanted to tag along on the airline ski weeks. They sounded amazing. Therefore, in January of 2019 when I was the young age of 42, he took me to Steamboat Springs. One of the ladies in our group took me on the bunny hill to give me the basics, and I picked it up. I skied three days that week and it was tough! My legs were burning terribly, and as you more mature ladies know fear is a huge factor! I had been doing CrossFit for three years, and I couldn’t believe this was so hard. I didn’t understand. But I loved being on the mountain, and I enjoyed the people I was meeting.

I wanted to get some lessons because the better you are at skiing the more fun you have. In December 2019, we took Sweet Gram to Copper Mountain because we couldn’t find anyone to stay with her and she goes where we go. We decided to take her and the two friends we shared a condo with were extremely helpful in keeping an eye on her and giving her a banana or a mac and cheese snack throughout the day. She had a great time and loved seeing the snow. She would sit by the fire and stare out the window as she did in our hometown when it snowed. We still see people who remember her at Apres ski.

That year, I skied another week at Steamboat Springs. I was so excited that I could finally ski to a bar on the mountain that I wasn’t able to ski my first time there because the only runs down were hard blues and black diamonds (higher level). I was getting more comfortable on skis and tried to learn from anyone willing to teach me. Then Covid hit that March. In December, our normal ski week was canceled so we decided to create our own ski week with friends in Park City where we skied Deer Valley, Solitude, and Snowbird. I was able to make the trip because in October of 2020, we made the difficult decision to put Gram into assisted living. She had fallen too many times, and we felt keeping her at home was unsafe.

Even though ski weeks looked different than in the past we were still able to travel and get to different resorts that allowed me to continue my ski journey. Gram passed away in February 2021. I still miss her and her cute smiling self. And there are so many times I wish she was still here to enjoy all these adventures with us. She would absolutely love them and enjoy seeing the snow.

Life has been crazy since she left us because my husband and I believe in the philosophy of never being home LOL. I have since been able to join my love on all the airline ski weeks since then. Although we live in Florida, we average about 25 days of skiing a year. This has helped me go from the bunny hill to black diamonds. The harder runs still scare me to death but I love that I can keep up with the team and see the backcountry. In my short skiing career of six years, I have been to 23 resorts in five countries on three different continents! I still pinch myself and wonder if it’s real.

Although I never dreamed of being a skier, my dreams of seeing the world are coming true. And seeing the world from places that many people never even get to is amazing. I am not sure what percentage of the population gets to view the world from the tops of the mountains, but I imagine it’s not high. Some people have no desire to leave their hometown let alone climb or ride to various mountain peaks. But here I am living my dream and continuing my ski journey. As a kid, I remember writing out my bucket list. My goal was to get to all 50 states, all seven continents, and as many countries as possible. At almost 49, I have been to 44 states, 23 countries, and three continents. Excited to be living out my dreams, and I thank God and Gram every day that my journey led me into this exhausting life of being a Pilot’s Wife.

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Successful

March 12, 2025 No Comments

I saw this quote the other day, and it rang true. Successful people in life aren’t truly special. They are more determined and work harder than most people want to. If you want to succeed, you need to put your heart and soul into your goal. Work hard when you are young so you can enjoy the benefits as you grow older. Life is short my friends. Strive for your goals.

To be successful at anything, the truth is you don’t have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren’t: consistent, determined, and willing to work for it.

~ Tom Brady

Photo by Razvan Chisu on Unsplash

In Family

Beautiful Friendships

March 4, 2025 No Comments

Friendship. What does it mean to you? My Rock and I have amazing friends as I have stated time and time again. I am not sure why we are so lucky, but we are blessed with the best of friends from our childhood, college years, and adulthood. Even the new people we have met have become the best of friends. We are forever grateful for our amazing friendships.

I am not sure what friendship means to you or if you keep score in your friendships. I hope not. It doesn’t matter who called last or whose turn it is to visit. Just make it work. To me, it is a feeling I get as I meet and get to know people. Maybe I am different but when I make a bond with someone, I feel like it is forever. Even if I don’t talk, text, or communicate with that person on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis, it is a bond that stands the test of time. I believe we all know that everyone’s lives are super busy. And as friendships grow we need to understand that circumstances change. We can’t expect that person to be there every minute of every day but what we can expect is that each person will make an effort to keep that friendship going in whatever way they can.

According to the Internet and Wikipedia, the following is the definition of friendship. Friendship is a hard concept to put into words and each relationship is like a snowflake…unique and different in its own special way.

“If you look in the dictionary it will tell you that the definition of friendship is a state of being friends; friendly relation, or attachment, to a person, or between persons; affection arising from mutual esteem and goodwill; friendliness; amity; goodwill. That all sounds nice, but it doesn’t cover the fact that a true friendship is a relationship that can survive the test of time and remain unconditional.”

“Friendship for most people is a combination of affection, loyalty, love, respect, and trust. The general traits of a friendship include similar interests, mutual respect, and an attachment to each other, and in order to experience friendship, you need to have true friends. The emotional safety provided by friendship means not having to weigh your thoughts and measure words. True friendship is when someone knows you better than yourself and takes a position in your best interests in a crisis. Friendship goes beyond just sharing time together, and it is long-lasting.”

As we continue on this journey we call life, we need to realize how important friendships are. In my single days, my friends were there to help fill the void of a significant other. I had friends I could count on to go to church with, to play sports with, and to go shopping with. As a single person, you do have to learn to do a lot of life on your own, but with good friends, some tasks can be made easier by sharing them with another human being.

When I met My Pilot, I didn’t know what I was getting into. I knew that I had the best of friends. I didn’t realize that he also had the best of friends. We both keep in touch with friends we have known since elementary school. We keep in touch with friends from college. We keep in touch with friends we met at ski weeks. We keep in touch with people all over the country and the world.

Sometimes it is overwhelming. Sometimes I need a break from all these friendships. Sometimes our social life is too much. But honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love that our friends understand that we may not remember all the life events or their kids’ life events or even names sometimes:) but we love them and will do our best. But when we get together, it will be like no time has passed. I love that we can call friends up at the last minute (and they can call us) and say hey we are coming to town. Are you around? And usually, we are welcome with open arms.

A little over a month ago, we had our Fifth Anniversary Party on New Year’s Eve. We had a weeklong party celebrating with friends from all walks of both of our lives. Sometimes people like to keep their friends separate, but My Love and I both don’t believe that at all. All of our friends are so awesome that they should meet each other and love each other like we love them.

What we found was true. Our friends truly had a wonderful time getting to know each other and spending time together. We even got a note from one of our single flight attendant friends and she said this:

“You attract amazing friends! That’s saying something as I don’t usually enjoy “all couple parties” but yours was absolutely AMAZING!”

We cannot be more appreciative of our beautiful friends. We love and cherish you and your friendships. Count your blessings if you have amazing friends and foster those relationships. If you don’t, then it’s time to let them go and make new amazing friends!

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Pursue Yourself

February 26, 2025 No Comments

We all need to take a step back and remember to pursue ourselves from time to time. Whatever path we are on, we need to make sure we are doing it as the healthiest and happiest version of ourselves. Are our dreams aligned with the best version of ourselves? If not, we need to refocus our priorities.

If you don’t know what to pursue in life right now… pursue yourself. Pursue becoming the healthiest, Strongest, happiest, most healed, most confident, most present version of yourself. Then the right path will reveal itself to you.

~ Facebook Post

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Love

February 12, 2025 No Comments

It’s almost Valentine’s Day. Remember we have one life to live so live it your way. Spend time with the friends and family who give you joy and don’t worry about the people who don’t enjoy you or like you. Let’s spread love this week and always.

I guess the real fact of the matter is, we don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring and the only thing we really have is right now. So, don’t stay angry for too long, and learn to forgive. Love your friends and family with all your heart. Have fun and live your life the way you want to live it. Most of all, don’t worry about people who don’t like you and enjoy the ones who do.

~ Positive Outlooks

Photo by Joshua Clay on Unsplash

In Weekly Wednesday Words

Smile

February 5, 2025 No Comments

We need to do something every day that makes us smile. Step out in the sunshine, go for a drive in the country, or listen to your favorite song. Whatever it is, take a moment each day to do something for yourself that will make you smile. Then take that smile and share it with others.

Make someone smile every day, but never forget that you are someone too. While spreading happiness like sunshine, don’t forget to save a ray for yourself too!!

~unknown

Photo by Jamie Brown on Unsplash