Have you ever experienced a life-changing event that changed your outlook on life?
I have.
You can call me an old soul if you want to, but by age 16, I understood that as we age, time accelerates quickly. We only get one life. However, as I got older and experienced the death of my mother and angel cats Precious and Dusty, life reminded me once again how precious our time on this Earth is.
Celebrate the milestones.
Today’s inspirational quote serves as a reminder to celebrate the little things and celebrate the milestones.
Speaking of milestones, I just celebrated my tenth wedding anniversary with a trip to the Poconos, PA. We had an active vacation which included shopping, dining out, and hiking!
We explored Bushkill Falls, nicknamed the Niagra Falls of Pennsylvania. While hiking the Yellow trail, we saw a few couples bring their furry family members on the trail.
My husband and I had a great time and were sure to make plenty of new memories to cherish for years to come.
If you enjoy outdoor activities in the Northeast, you can learn more about the rules, admission, and details on the Bushkill Falls website here.
I’ve included one clip from our visit below.
Bushkill Falls, PA
Focus on the good times.
If you have experienced a life-changing year, remember to focus on the positive.
I remember when Dusty passed, the final moments remained stuck in my brain until I found pictures and old video memories of her in happy times.
Take the happy and pleasant memories to focus your energy on to help you find your joy again after loss. If you have not experienced pet loss or a human loss yet, don’t let a day pass without telling your loved ones you love them.
Document.
Document and take photos and video clips of your life now while the people (and pets) in your life are doing fine and content. Making memories is important as it’s a way to capture the love and moments with your loved ones for years to come.
You’ll have your video footage and photos to recall when your memory fails you. You can easily use your cell phone to record videos or save pictures to create a collage of photos later.
I’m not the best at giving beginner photography tips; however, you can find great tips for taking photos using your smartphone from my friend and blogging colleague Marjorie at Dashkitten. Go here!
Final Thoughts
The importance of making memories helps remind us life is precious and to cherish all the moments shared with our loved ones. It was such an honor to be cat mom to Precious and Dusty. The life we lived together and the experiences shared and captured live on forever in my heart.
Having documented many of my experiences helps me work through the grief and makes my heart smile. The love always remains.
Let me know your thoughts. Do you keep a journal or video footage of your memories spent with pets and loved ones? Does looking at happier times in photos make you smile? At what point in your own life did you realize life is short! How do you preserve your memories shared with family and friends?
Leave a comment below.
18 Comments
Ruth Epstein
Great post and making memories is so important as in a persons darkest times they can look back at the photos and smile, this is something I do all the time and it keeps me going especially when out in nature. Your photos are beautiful and I love waterfalls.
Admin
Ruth,
Thank you! I enjoyed the waterfalls too!
Michelle & The Paw Pack
Such a great reminder. I feel like the ‘life is short’ message hit me at a young age also. It’s something I think of often, which can be a bit depressing but also means that I’ve always been one to treasure happy moments with my loved ones.
Admin
Well said!
jana rade
We’ve collected many great memories with our dogs, for which I am grateful. Seize the day is my motto, particularly when my dog starts getting older and one never knows how many days we’ll have.
Admin
Jana,
Well said!!
Beth
It looks like you had a great vacation! Like you, I think that photos and videos are important keepsakes. I wish every pet lover could get fantastic professional photos of their pets, including some with the pet and the person! Since that isn’t possible, I hope people will visit Marjorie’s site and get some tips to improve their photos and videos!
Admin
Beth,
Yes, I had a great time. I wish it didn’t end. Taking photos yourself with Marjorie’s tips is a great alternative to in person sessions. Thanks for sharing your insight.
Terri
This is a great article. Focus on the positives, life is short. You never know what will happen or when. I do remember it took me a while to replace the horrible last hours and minutes memories with more positive ones. Very good advice!
Admin
Terri,
Thank you!
Robin
I’m very thankful for my blog. Since I’ve been blogging, I have gotten thousands of photos and videos of my cats and our adventures. I really need more, but it has been hard in the past year or so. I 100% agree that you need to make memories with your loved ones. Those last moments are very hard to overpower if you don’t have something good recorded.
Admin
Robin,
So true! The journey isn’t easy but worth it.
Dorothy "FiveSibesMom"
First, congrats on your anniversary! Kamira, I always love your words of comfort and wisdom. I so agree with documenting all the memories. As a career photojournalist, this thankfully comes natural to me, so I am always burning out space on computers, phones, and back-up drives! I always joke (maybe more serious than joking) that I may crash “the cloud” one day with some 54,000 photos (just) on my devices! What is that quote -Today’s special moments are tomorrow’s memories. And they truly are.
Admin
Dorothy,
Thank you so much. 🙂 I’m happy this post made you smile. Wowzers!! 54K photos! Thousands of memories for a lifetime. Love it!
Cathy Armato
You’re so right about capturing photos & video of the cherished memories we’ve shared with our loved ones. I used to get annoyed at the video camera around at family gatherings, but now I’m so happy to have those videos.
Admin
Cathy,
Right!! Aren’t you glad you have those memories? It helps remember the good times.
Nikki
Lovely post on how we can make lasting memories. I feel like capturing the memories via photos or video really allows me to reflect on them the most. Then I can revisit a time – whether it was sad or happy – and experience the moment from a new perspective.
Admin
Nikki,
Yes! Well said and thenk you!