Happy Birthday! Today I celebrate 58 years on this earth. Like you, I have had my ups and downs but birthdays have always been my favorite. Birthdays should also be celebrated. What better day for us to tell our loved ones, “I am so happy you are having another birthday, I don’t know what my life would be like without you in it”?

My friend Val of Victorious Val & the Breast Cancer Crusaders introduced me to the concept of bonus birthdays. Val just had her sixth bonus birthday and for as long as I have known her she has been on a path to ultimate fitness and wellness. Anyone who has ever had cancer, a heart attack, other life threatening illness, soldiers in a war zone, or life threatening event probably understands this concept. Every single birthday after that event is a bonus.

Bonus programs get cancelled every day. Earlier this week I got word that the bonus program has been cancelled for one of my heroes. Rachel fought metastatic breast cancer for over six years. Each and every year she lived life as full and as big as she could. She made the most of her bonuses and she will be missed.

Survivors of all kinds of life threatening issues often question why they were chosen to survive. I am no different. I often asked why and the answer never seemed to come. Then I realized I needed to look further and deeper. The answer would not come to me, I had to go out and find it. Both Val and Rachel showed me that life is what you make it, no matter what comes across your path.

Are you celebrating bonuses? Tell me about your journeys. As I celebrate my 12th bonus birthday I embark on a new journey. I do not know where it will take me or who I will find along the path, but I am looking forward to it. I would love for you to join me.