In The Moment

Almost two weeks ago a friend of my son's was killed in a car accident. She was a 19 yr.old young lady that he went to school with and they ran around in the same social circle. The car she was riding in was clipped by another car, they lost control and she was  thrown from the car and died instantly. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt. A tragedy that someone so young and full of life is gone in an instant. She was a daughter, sister and friend. A whole life's worth of plans....gone in an instant. A family left to grieve and to wonder...what if?

Last Saturday one of my oldest and dearest friends lost her husband. On Wednesday he was having some back pain, by Friday he was in the hospital in renal failure and had a systemic infection. On Saturday morning he passed. He was a husband, father, son and brother. He loved spending time with his twin boys and planning all sorts of activities with them. He was funny, smart and just a really good guy. His boys will not get to grow up with his guidance and he wife will miss having him to lean on when times are difficult.

When things like this happen people talk about how we should live in the moment, tell your loved ones how you feel about them everyday and not to take anything for granted.

While all that is true, these events are a somber reminder how fragile the world we live in can be. One minute you can be a laughing teenager and then you're gone. You can be a doting father and dependable husband and an illness takes hold and you're gone. It's all so sad and so unfair, but like they say, "no one ever said life is fair". It makes me terribly sad and thoughtful. I don't like to think that life can be that fragile and unpredictable. It's a scary thought.

I don't know if it's my Swiss/German/English heritage or what, but I like order and planning and everything in it's place. I don't just go off "willy nilly" and do unpredictable things. I can be spur of the moment, but I'll need a few hours notice. But when events like this happen it does make me want to be more "in the moment", to find my passion in life and go for it and to let everyone know how I feel about them.

I don't know if I can change, I hope I can, a little at least. You never know what the future holds. But in the meantime, I can't help but feel melancholy over the young girl's death and devastated over my friend's husband's passing. Hopefully the families will find peace.

Kathy