It's funny how much more meaningful things become when you know it's the last time you'll ever experience them. Even standing in the doorway of your home on Halloween handing out candy to the kids in your neighborhood takes on all new significance. I'm pretty sure I've never gotten teary doing that before, but I surely had to fight those pesky liquid emotions back on Monday evening. Yep, you read that right ... it took everything in me not to bawl my eyes out every single time my doorbell rang, and you can bet that when I finally turned out my porch light and closed the door, I sat in the floor with Ollie in my lap and boo-hooed big time. And yes, I know it's a dumb thing to cry about, but I most certainly did just that.
I received a call a few days ago from someone in my extended family whom I love dearly. We were only a moment or two into the conversation when she told me that her best friend in the world ... they've been friends since they were babies ... had been told last week by the doctors that she had only three months to live. The pain in her voice was muted only by the pain in her heart as she said, "This will be her last Thanksgiving and her last Christmas ... if she makes it that long ... these will be her last." Tears welled in my eyes as she spoke about their years of friendship and all they have experienced together ... good and bad alike ... and those tears poured down my cheeks and plopped onto my shirt when she said, "I thought we'd have more time ... I thought she would beat this and we'd have more time."
Tonight as I drove home from work, the horizon glowed in the warmth of the setting sun. It was one of those beautiful Kansas sunsets ... a sunset that made me think of how my mom always said the sky was bigger out here in Kansas than it was back in Tennessee. Don't waste one moment, friends ... not one single moment.
4 comments:
You are gifted with an extraordinary ability to put into words those most important and, for most people, most difficult to describe subjective but powerful life experiences that every single person is able to relate to . . . deeply. Thank you for being so handy with the pen and so willing to use it Terrie! There is none like you.
If you were my friend Terri I'd never let you go.
Ditto what the other two folks wrote! I always look forward to reading your posts. They are both inspiring and endearing.
Hope you'll be writing more once you get all moved and settled in to your new digs with Ollie. I miss your daily posts because your words always melt me.
Post a Comment