Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Life is too short....

.....to get upset over little things
.....to stay mad at someone you love
.....to hold a grudge
.....to not pursue your dreams
.....to not share your intimate thoughts
.....to not tell your loved ones how special they are to you

This seems to be a recurrent thought in my mind lately. It's kind of been "in my face" over the past few months with my mom's cancer diagnosis and one thing after another keeps reiterating these themes.

First, it was Grey's season finale:
"Drink it in. Cause this is it. It might all be gone tommorow..."

Then, my mom went for a follow-up to her oncologist and my dad asked the dreaded question, "How much time do we have?" The doctor told my mom that people with the same kind of cancer she has [colon spread to lung & liver] live on average 22-24 months.

And yesterday, I found out that my college roommate's husband died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on Friday night. He was a year younger than me and left behind his wife, a 4 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. Please keep Bethany and their family in your prayers as they mourn the loss of a husband, a father, a son, and a brother.

The point I'm trying to make here is this: none of us know when we will pass from this earth. Any one of us could die tomorrow, next week, next month....we never know when it will happen. So, I encourage you to live, laugh, and especially love while you have this precious time with the ones you love.

Enjoy it. Cherish it.
Don't go to bed angry. Forgive. Forget.
Encourage. Participate. Hug. Kiss. Smile.
Laugh at your mistakes. Make amends.
Love your family. Love your friends. Love your enemies.

Life is too short. Make the most of what you have...
How will you spend your time?

5 comments:

Momma-of-5 said...

Very well said, Aim!
And I didn't know about your mom. I'll be praying for you guys - your whole family.
I can't wait until we get to heaven...so many of my loved ones are already there waiting give me the grand tour!

Jill McLaughlin said...

One important lesson I've learned this past year is that compassion is a beautiful thing. (Look up wikipedia's entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion)
Often times actions speak louder then words. Go out of your way sometimes to let others know just how special they are to you. It can be as simple as a letter, a hug, a phone call. Sometimes loving someone means taking a more active role.

KC said...

Thank you for those remarks. You brought tears to my eyes and got me to go upstairs and kiss my husband and to hug and kiss this crying baby that's keeping me up at nights.

Your mom and your family continue to be in my prayers.

Melissa~ said...

Oh, Amy I'm sorry, I didn't know about your mom. She and your family will be in my prayers.

Thank you for this reminder.

♥ Melissa~

Unknown said...

hey...so true...sorry to hear what the doctor said about your mom, but you know, they don't know. You want to prepare yourself, my mom they said on the longer side was 10-20 years and she ended up being months. It could be the reverse with your mom and as you know, everything is in perspective with her. (p.s. I forgot you and Bethany roomed together one year?? When was that?)