Not something you probably want to think about but at some point this question may have come up. How old were you when you had a close friend, neighbor, etc., that died suddenly? They might have been sick and you didn’t know about it, you just remember one day they were no longer there.
The first person I knew of whom I was very close to was Mr. Watson. I had known Mr. Watson and his family when we first moved onto Valley Road back in 1974. He had a wife and 3 children who were older than my sister and I. Mr. Watson died of stomach cancer. I don’t even remember how old I was when he died, I just remember being very sad.
My second dealing with death was in high school. Actually there were two instances. A guy I had met at Skateland, he was a twin. I remember meeting him skating and I think we talked a few times but then lost touch. It wasn’t too long but I remember calling him and his brother says to me “where have you been?!” He then proceeded to tell me that his brother had passed away, he committed suicide. Another high school classmate had also committed suicide. I knew him very well. He was a very nice kid and I would have never suspected that he was hurting enough to take his own life.
My Mother died when I was six months pregnant with her first grandchild. That hit me the hardest. First, what was I going to do without her and her granddaughter would never know her. Spiritually, I know they’ve met. That very first day my daughter was on this earth, was the day she seemed to look exactly like my Mother. Today she does things that remind me of her. She has to turn on all the lights before walking down the hall, leaves lights on when she’s not in that particular room and the one I love the most is that she holds her blanket over her mouth when she’s ready for bed. Mom slept like that. It’s cool to see that my daughter does that also.
My Father died when my daughter was two and a half years old. She doesn’t remember him much but at least he was able to know her for a few years.
Here’s another kicker. Am I 100% healthy? No. I have a 2 mm brain aneurysm that was discovered on 10-3-13. It’s small enough that we’re watching it. Granted even though it’s only 2mm, it can still burst. Am I worried about that? Of course but I’m not stressing about it. I leave all the big stuff to God to worry about. And it took this diagnosis to do that.
So why am I writing about death? I guess the point I want to make is that our time here on this earth is not guaranteed. That day will come when God decides that he needs us to do his work in Heaven. I’m OK with that. I would just hope that doesn’t happen before I meet my grandchild. I know I don’t have 100% choice in that matter, but it’s my wish.
Don’t take anything for granted. Get to know people who you normally wouldn’t associate with. Relish the fact that there are people who are different from you. That doesn’t make them a bad person. Stop listening to others hate campaigns. Be yourself. Be nice. Love all. Most importantly, don’t work yourself into an early grave. People tend to focus on the wrong things in life, money, success, fame. If that’s what you want, great, but don’t let that interfere with what’s important. Live each day like it’s your last.
