November Photo Challenge: Enjoy Life

November wasn’t as hectic as October but we were still very busy with all kinds of life. PJ asked us to capture Enjoy Life as the prompt for November’s photo blogging challenge. I find there are two ways to approach these prompts. One is to intentionally look for photo opportunities based on the prompt. The other one is to take all kinds of pictures and then try and fit them into the prompt. I usually operate on the latter one.

Enjoying life is something we should all try to keep top of mind….since we never know which day will be our last. But, isn’t it easy to get bogged down with events and circumstances that destroy that goal? From economic stress, physical limitations,  disappointments, depressing news about politics and the state of the union, and general bad news…..sometimes it’s sorta hard to find things to enjoy about life. It’s an easy trap. But we were created to enjoy everything good about God’s creation.

Moving into the holiday season, we begin with the “thankful month” of November. Expressing thankfulness for what we have can go a long way in helping distract from the challenges life throws at us. I find it more difficult to complain and gripe about things when I’m focused on what I’ve graciously been given in my life.

So here’s my five for PJ’s prompt, Enjoy Life.

Enjoy Life 1
Twix received an award for her scores on last year’s MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) testing. She received an Advanced in English/Language Arts and Proficient in Math (missing Advanced by 4 points). She was enjoying the recognition of accomplishment and we were enjoying sharing in her success. One of her great-grandmas was also able to make it to the awards program.

Enjoy Life 2
In keeping with Peanut’s willingness to try new experiences, she landed a small part in her first high school theatre production, Spamalot. Even though it was more or less a bit part, it was a huge accomplishment for someone with anxiety to want to try and be on stage. She did enjoy the experience and plans to try out for the spring production as well.

Bonus material: One of the songs in Spamalot is perfect for this prompt: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

Enjoy Life 3-5
My mom is not really enjoying much of life right now since her husband passed earlier this year. Even though she  plays bridge and occasionally goes to lunch with a friend, she is lonely. But on Thanksgiving she was in high spirits because her great-grandchildren (and one of her daughters and granddaughters) came to spend the day with her. We took down her Autumn decorations and “Christmasfied” her house for the holidays. We covered her outdoor patio furniture, put up her outside Christmas lights, filled and hung the birdfeeders and a few other odd jobs around the house. We shared a delicious meal and enjoyed each other’s company. It was a long, long day but worth it to see this almost 90-year-old lady smile and have the opportunity to. spend time with her great grands.

Those are my five for Enjoy Life. Now that holiday season is in high gear, I hope to make time prioritizing enjoying life and minimizing the stress of life. Please visit PJ’s place the first of December to see how others from around the world enjoy life.

Here’s a quote from motivational speaker and author, Bob Goff. I believe it’s a great way to approach enjoying life. If we’re focused on loving others, we simply cannot help but enjoy life!

“Don’t save up love like you’re trying to retire on it; give it away like you’re made of it.”
~Bob Goff