Today was, above all else, a reminder that nothing is more important than your family and that really we should just live for today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? And the past is over and done with and nothing is going to change that.
As I sat with my son at a memorial today for his friend's mother who was just four years older than me, I thought about all that I have to be thankful for. While this young girl spent the morning at the cemetery saying goodbye to her mother, I spent that time getting pedicures with my guys and my mother as we get ready for our family trip. So frivolous yet the things that memories are made of; memories of things just like this that this family shared today. As I watched the tears fall down my son's cheeks as he listened to his friend speak so eloquently and courageously about her mother, I wondered if he was thinking the same thing. Grief and gratitude sometimes need to go hand in hand for us to truly appreciate all that we have.
As the day went on, I couldn't help but think about the grief stricken husband and his focus on the 23 years he spent with this woman rather than the 23 or more he has been robbed of. How lucky he is to have had 23 years of true love. What a wonderful gift and how thankful he must be for that. I am sure, if he was asked, he would not trade those 23 years for anything.
Memorials always make me think about my own mortality... I would imagine it is the same for most people. I always ask myself: If it all ended tomorrow, would I be at peace? As I watched this woman's final words to her family and friends reassuring them she was at peace, I imagine that she was grateful for the life that she had. She certainly seemed at peace and how grateful she must have been for that.
As I sit here writing this in a home full of love, laughter and respect, having spent the evening preparing for our trip, I know that - should it all end tomorrow - I, too, have found my peace and I am so eternally grateful for that... and the hair cut that the kidlet got today... and the paramedic accompanying the kidlet on his first pedicure.
As for living for today, as I had hummed and hawed about packing something that might not be the best idea for someone my age, I threw it in anyways. What the hell. Live for today.
