I was recently asked the question “What is one thing you can’t live without?” The question kind of threw me for a loop. I am not sure I ever thought about what I couldn’t live without in a serious sense. I thought about it in a very superficial sense, you know ~ “I couldn’t live without my tea in the morning” or “I couldn’t live without tennis,” but I wanted my answer to this question to be anything but superficial. There are several things I don’t want to live without and even more things I would really be lost without but the one thing I can’t live without gave me a moment of pause, only a moment, though.

The answer popped into my head as I ran through my litany of things I love and stuff I hoard. It is my husband I can’t live without. Stan makes me want to be the best person I can be. Every couple has one person who is the better half. Stan is my better half. He is the driving force behind my desire to go out and shine in the world. Without him, my life would be dim. I want to be the best I can be because Stan is there.

My answer is more figurative than literal. My physical life wouldn’t end if Stan weren’t in it but my desire to shine would be diminished (my desire to be the best mama will go on and on). It is that part of my life I “couldn’t live without.” I don’t say any of this with any sense of tragedy or martydom. I say it with the greatest sense of joy. Stan brings joy and where there is joy there is life. Stan will always bring great joy to all of the lives he touches.

What is the one thing you can’t live without? It was a fun question for me to answer. If you have time today I would love to hear what you can’t live without!

There was another question I was asked at the same time I was asked about what I couldn’t live without. It was “What are you most proud of in your life?” Can you guess my answer?