Times Flies and Then the Moment is Lost

So far this has been a rough year for Doug and I and a lot of others as well.  We lost Doug’s mother in March and I also lost my Aunt Mary (my father’s youngest sister) around the same time.  Doug lost an uncle and I recently lost an uncle as well.  All loved members of our families.

Sometimes death comes quickly and unexpectedly.  Sometimes love ones suffer from an illness that lets you know that death is hanging around waiting patiently.  But regardless of how death appears, we are never really ready.  Even with a long term disease we can never be truly ready to say good bye.

But what I do know is that the time is now to let those you love and care about know how you feel.  People need to know that they are valued.  If you feel the need to let someone know what they mean to you or what influence they’ve had on your life, DO IT!!!  Write a letter, send an email, pick up the phone.  Do it for yourself.  Never let a day pass holding back words that you feel the need to express.

When someone we love receives a diagnosis that leads to a downhill roll into disability and finally death, we have proof that we need to say the things that need to be said to them.  But we need to recognize this fact in our dealings with all of those that we love.

When we end a visit, a phone conversation, or whatever the circumstance might be, we never really know what will happen between the end of that encounter and the next.  When your better half leaves for the day, do they truly understand how much they mean to you.  Do your children and grandchildren know how proud you are of them?

I’m not talking about just “saying the words”.  Write it down.  In this electronic age that we live in I think its important to take pen to paper and let them know.  Nothing is worse than attending a funeral and hearing someone say “I wish I had told them.”