Beginnings, and Endings

A few months ago, an old friend of ours from our volleyball group where hubby and I met took a promising new job in Wyoming. He and his wife, another volleyball cohort, had been living in the Carolinas with their two sons for quite some time. Wife and sons were to join him in Wyoming in a couple of months, after the school year concluded. Exciting new beginning to an already satisfying life.

Before the weekend, our friend suffered a massive stroke. From the outset the prognosis was bleak, and by Saturday he was in hospice care. On Sunday he was gone. This is the fourth friend to pass at a young age from our old gang, and he lived by far the longest, at just over 50. Sad and scary all together, and what a waste. Fantastic guy, husband, father. His easy, explosive, contagious laugh is still with me even though it's been a while since the families have gotten together. Sigh.

I'm not one for bucket lists, but I do believe in telling your loved ones that they are loved. I'm not one to live each day hedonistically as if it were my last, but I do try to live each day as if this were the one people will remember when they think of me. If you're one of my loved ones, I really hope you know it in your heart.