Okay, Friends.  We are arriving upon a fun, spirited time of year.
Yes, this weekend happens to St. Patrickâs Day.
Some towns choose to honor veterans with a big Memorial Day Parade. Some devote their efforts to putting on a big show to celebrate US independence around July 4th, complete with fireworks.
I live in the self appointed most Irish town in America â where we choose to celebrate the heritage of many of our townsfolk with a mega St. Patrickâs Day parade that shuts down our Main Street and harbor area every year.
The sea of green, the fife and drums, the beaded necklaces, the revelry and merrimentâŠ.it truly is a unique and treasured element woven into the fabric and soul of our community. They donât call it the âIrish Rivieraâ for nothing.
But it comes at a steep cost.
Forget about new schools, dog parks and senior centers. Our town leaders go through great pains to have meetings, debates and ballots to ensure we have plenty of funding for bigger and better floats that carry the kids that throw diverse brands of small liquor bottles at our citizens.
Vote YES for funding for a new Fitzyâs Liquor Martâs Flatbed TrailerâŠ.Do it for the ParadeâŠ.Do it for the KidsâŠ.
Trust me, you havenât really celebrated St. Pattyâs Day until you witness your elderly neighbor, who skipped Mass to claim a âwicked good spotâ on the route at the crack of dawn, tackling the local pediatrician, who ALSO skipped Mass to get a âprimo spotâ AND a free Dunkinâ DunKings Munchkin Skewah, in order be first to get that Fireball or Don Cuervo nip being thrown by the 6th grade girls softball team.Â
Thatâs after you catch a glimpse of someone who you believe could be your childâs science teacher passed out face down on the bar of the Hibernian Tavern at 11:45amâŠ.oh, no, Ms. Jenkins-StoneâŠ.you seemed so nice at Back-To-School NightâŠ.not you tooâŠ.
I know, you can almost smell it, canât you? But thatâs not what I am talking about when I mean it is a fun, spirited time of year.
No, what I really mean is that is time for March Madness â those two weeks in March where people pay money to fill out brackets and choose which college basketball teams, most of whom that they donât know or have never watched, might win a few games over the next couple of weeks. Thereâs something about the frenetic pace, the buzzer beating finishes and the intensity of it all that makes it an exciting time of year.
This year, my youngest son (who just finished his own basketball season) and I have been watching a bunch of my alma materâs games on TV in advance of March Madness. Itâs been a tough up-and-down year for our team â they definitely underachieved amid high expectations. They were going to have to make a good late season run to even be eligible for the big tournament.
And that they did â they showed up and gave it a shot. After a fourth win in a row, the star center on the team said this during a press conference:
"I've been a little emotional the last few days, because I realized that every one of these games could be my last. ... I told the guys 'I'm not ready to be done."
I found it to be an interesting quote from the young leader, especially seeing the effect it was having on all of the players. They were all playing more disciplined, focused and with more urgency that they had played all season.
During that four game stretch, the team looked like it could be anybody. They were dominating.
Better late than never.
Maybe it is coming from an older and perhaps wiser perspective, but my prevailing thought: why did it take the looming possibility of the season ending to get this type of output from everyone?
The team obviously had the talent to win big games. It also had the drive. It was clear that it had the will.
Why not play EVERY game as if it was their last?
By the way, doesnât this also ring true in every day life?
None of us have a clue what tomorrow will bring and yet, we all take so much for granted.
Jobs. Relationships. Our health. Our families. Our talents. Our freedom. Planet Earth. The sun.
All of those things may very well be there tomorrow, but, amongst all of the Madness, there is no guarantee. We canât always control what may happen and when it may happen, but we can control the effort, the urgency and the heart we put into whatever it is we do when it is happening.
So why wait until it may look like the end?
Play every game like it may be your last.
Give every hug like it may be your last.
Feel every feeling like it may be your last.
Celebrate every birthday like it may be your last.
Take every family vacation like it may be your last.
Chase every deal like it may be your last.
Laugh at every joke like it may be the last time your voice can be heard.
Pay every compliment like it may be the last time you can give it.
Watch every sunset like it may be the the last one you ever see.
Make the most of what you are given today and donât take it for granted. Be present in every moment possible and put urgency and heart into whatever it is you are doing.
Trust me, Friends, donât wait until the end to make that big run.
In order to the get most of out of what you have, you gotta play each and EVERY game like it is your last.
Let me know how it goes. In the meantime, try to celebrate St. Pattyâs Day like you live in the Irish Riviera. Enjoy the weekend!
XOXO
Dave
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