What An Achievement!

This weekend we have been celebrating my parents 55th Wedding anniversary. Incredible eh! I can’t imagine being married that long, as I haven’t even lived that long!

It has been great fun catching up with family or friends who we haven’t seen in years, sharing stories, and having a laugh. We are all a little older, none the wiser, but up for having a great time.

With this being the Emerald anniversary, a lot of green was involved, from balloons to table decor, to the cake and banners. There was plenty to remind you of this spectacular achievement.

For some fun I had a photo of my parents on their wedding day made into a life size cardboard cut out. During the evening celebrations, I got them to close their eyes whilst everyone watched on as the ‘couple’ from 1970 made an appearance. There was laughter and surprise as they looked on to see themselves from back then. A wonderful memory to come face to face with.

Imagine coming face to face with your younger self, looking back at you and reliving all the moments from that day. Surreal for sure. But think of how far they have come since then, from family to jobs and flats to houses. So much has been accomplished in all these years.

For many of us, looking back over 55 years is impossible due to our age, but even going back 10 or 20 years, think about what have you achieved.

Whilst we often do many things, we are not good at stopping to reflect on these moments. You may have got a degree, got married, bought a house, a car or a boat, you might have had children or become a granny or been promoted once, twice or even more. But when we attain something, we are usually straight onto the next thing without evening acknowledging what we have done or been through.

You will have achieved so much, you may not think it but take a moment to go back throughout your life and really think about it. Try to answer the following questions:

• What are you most proud of? If you had to pick the top 5 things to celebrate today, what would they be and why?
• Was there something you never thought would end? ie, completing a degree or college course, or working at a specific place? What did you to once it ended? Celebrate or just let it go under the radar despite it being a big deal.
• Was there something you didn’t want to end? What was it and why didn’t you want it to end? Again what did you do to acknowledge the ending?
• If you had to choose a moment in time of yourself to be made into a cardboard cut out which one would you choose and why? What was it about that moment that brought you joy and happiness you would love to revisit?

Not one of us knows what the future holds and we certainly can’t predict how our life would turn out when we were were in our early 20’s. Capturing the moments that matter and we are proud of is something we should record.

If you are someone who daily or regularly writes a journal then you will have those moments on record. You may not have seen them as a big deal or an achievement at the time, however, looking back you may realise they were. Some achievements can change our life and others may have little impact but mean a lot to you.

Capturing these moments, no matter how small could be written in a Celebrations journal. A journal where all your achievements no matter how big or small are held. Giving you the opportunity to look back over and recount those moments, you could even include photos, whether in print or online or why not create a blog for these moments.

Whether you are celebrating 55 years of marriage (congratulations mum and dad) or you are jumping up and down as you passed an exam. Every moment of success for you should be celebrated. And who knows, maybe at your next big celebration, a cardboard cut out of you from your younger years will make an appearance.

Thank you for reading this week and congratulations to all those who are celebrating this weekend.

Have a great week. Look after you!

Love Emma xx