Tick tock
A cliché, but a meaningful one
Full disclosure: I know what I’m about to say has been said before. It’s a cliché, but a meaningful one.
In the last few weeks, I learned of the deaths of three acquaintances. None of them were close friends of mine, but I’d had a pleasant, friendly relationship with one, and a respectful online connection with the second. The third acquaintence, a former neighbor, had been in treatement for advanced cancer for nearly a decade.
All three of them were my age (late fifties) or close to it.
This is where the bag of clichés enters the room.
Make the most of every day. You never know how much time you’ll have left. Every day could be your last.
And yet. All of those things are true.
Part of the burst of energy, urgency and momentum in my life over the last several months was a determination to do exactly those things - seize the day - after several years of COVID era cocooning, and an undiagnosed illness that had me fearing the worst.
Our lives are a temporary gift, and it’s the easiest thing in the world to forget that fact when we navigate our daily schedules.
It’s sad that it takes tragedy, loss or enormous changes to shake us out of our complacency. To remember to make the most of every day.
Yes, it’s a cliché.
A damn good one, though.
Might be worth getting a sentimental greeting card, tape it to my computer, just to remind myself…..
this piece really resonated.
last week, my writing group found out that one of our members passed away. the group meets on zoom, so i never met margaret, but will miss the insightful observations she shared whenever she read my work.
margaret’s death brought me back to 1996, when a member of my first writing group, and an extremely close friend, fell off a mountain in siberia. it was ruled an accident, but we’ve always wondered about her husband, who inherited $5 million.
in the 30 years since, i’ve lost seven more friends, most my age: cancer, aids, lupus — two possible suicides.