Z is for Zest

It’s the last day of 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge! It’s been great fun to bring Rayne Forrest to the challenge, and I come to this last day quite pleased I’ve completed it as both Rayne and KC, every day on time. But I will admit I'm also looking forward to a bit of a blogging break. 

While I had this entry up at a different blog a few years ago, it's still appropriate for today and for a new audience. 

I appreciate meeting so many new people through both blogs. Each person brings something to my life even if it’s just a fleeting comment on the blog. It’s still a connection to someone else’s world and that’s the point of all. 

Now on to ZEST.

Zest: a noun

1. lively excitement : a feeling of enjoyment and enthusiasm

2. a lively quality that increases enjoyment, excitement, or energy

3. small pieces of the skin of a lemon, orange, or lime that are used to flavor food

A new acquaintance once asked me if my apparent zest for life was for real. A deeper friendship with this person never developed, which is a shame. When we encounter each other we always speak, but her world has too many gray corners for us to be bosom buddies. I fear she’d suck the zest out of me if I let her in too far.

I do have a certain amount of zest for life. The small things around me are a source of enjoyment, and often wonder. Every year I eagerly await the first green tips of the bulbs breaking ground. It’s a ‘wow’ moment when I realize the mountain has taken on a reddish blush as the maples prepare to bring forth their leaves. I feel the energy of the changing seasons on a molecular level. It’s who I am.

My late grandfather lived every day until a month prior to his death with a zest for life. He was born on the cusp of WWI and lived through WWII and the Great Depression. He buried his wife, his parents and all his younger siblings. And yet, until his eyesight failed, this man lived every day and looked forward to tomorrow. This was my shining example of having a zest for life. I hope I learned well the lessons he so lovingly taught. 

I wish for all of you reading this that you also may have a zest for life. I wish that you experience joy, no matter how small, no matter from what source, in every day of your life.

Thanks for being a part of my world in the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

Rayne
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