Saturday, March 21, 2009

Life Is Short

You know the sudden passing of Natasha Richardson this week reminded me of this saying my grandma would say "Give me my flowers while I'm living."

You know when people say that, it sounds a bit morbid, but it's the truth right?

Why not tell those people you care about that you care for them now? What good is it when they are gone?

At funerals, there are lots of nice things being said about the deceased BUT how many of those things were said when that person really could hear them? If you are sitting in the funeral, you know that person was a good person otherwise you would not be there.

I think often of a co-worker of mine. Whenever he came left you, he would always hug you. He was the sweetest man, and if you needed the shirt off his back, he would give it to you.

He had a cough, he went into the doctor and found he had advanced lung cancer. He did not live another six months, but whenever you talked to him he was always optimistic even when he had the pump to self administer his morphine.

During this time, no one knew at the time, he was planning his own funeral. He asked the people he wanted to sing to sing and told them the song. He asked his first cousin, who is a minister, to preside over the service.

He did not want anyone to be sad, but how could you not when someone that special was suddenly taken away from you. It was not until his sister got up to speak did she explain that he had planned everything, and finally, she read the letter that he had written to read to everyone at the funeral.

He thanked everyone for being there for him, and how special everyone was. He told his wife that he loved her more than life itself and if he had a choice, he would never leave her but it was beyond his control. He had one daughter and told her that she was always going to be his baby, and he loved her very much. He closed by saying that after the funeral people forget the family, and he begged that everyone remembered his wife and daughter because they were going to be sad without him...and he didn't want them to be sad alone.

What a man he was right? In all of that pain, he thought of everything so that his wife would not have to do it. Leaving such sweet words ... but, that was him, he was a doll. There definitely need to be more like him; the world would be a better place.

Tell those you care about that you care for them....we never know when it is our time.

No comments: