Reflecting

This past weekend, a friend passed away. He was much too young, and left behind an amazing wife and a large family. Another friend had a fire destroy her son's house, which is not the first time her life has been tragically hurt by a fire. Last month, another friend had a heart attack, which he survived, but it was a close call. I think his heart was hurting from losing a son earlier this year.

I wonder why it takes seeing things like this happen to friends and their families, to make me stop and think about the fragile nature of life. Any of those circumstances could have happened to us. And if it had happened -- what would I have done? How would I cope? Would I have been strong enough to weather those storms of life?

The biggest lesson that I know I have taken from this, is that we never know when something will turn our lives upside down. We are not immune to tragedy, and it can come at any time, without announcing its arrival.

So, I find myself wanting to make sure that my kids know that I love them. That Todd knows that he is my whole world. Because what if tonight were the last time I could tell them that? What if the last words they heard from me were hurtful? What if their final memory of me (or my final memory of them) were full of harsh words or hard feelings?

Pretty sure that I would beat myself up over that. So, with that in the very back of my mind, I've been trying to reach out a little more to others. Hugging my kids. Not missing that kiss good-bye. Stopping what I'm doing to pay attention to that sweet 4-year-old bundle of energy. These precious souls mean everything to me. I hope I'm doing enough that they can feel that, too, and that they know that their wife/mom loves them with every ounce of her soul.