Death and Wisdom

Yesterday, we went to a funeral. Ben's cousin died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. She left a husband of five years and a beautiful daughter behind. She went to meet her mother and her young brother. A few days before that, Ben's uncle passed away. He had been sick for awhile. He went to meet his beautiful bride.

What does this mean for us? A two hour car ride back and forth in 24 hours gave Ben and me some time to think about it. His cousin's husband, Steve, hugged us tight after the funeral and said, "Promise me that you'll love each other every day like it is your last." "We do that already," Ben says, as we are driving home last night. We hold hands tightly and look each other in the eyes. I know this is true.

We say that, in these situations, it must be hard for people who don't truly love each other to understand what it's like when one loses their soul mate. We understand - we found each other.

For me, it means that there's no time to waiver when it comes to a life decision. "Do I take the trip?" Yes. "Do I make that phone call?" Yes. "Do I say what I need to say even though it hurts or it's hard?" Yes. "Do I let fear take hold of me when I can't see what's ahead?" No. (this one is my constant struggle, fyi.)

Life is short. We are living on borrowed time. This is not our home. Don't waste one single minute. I'm doing it for Debbie and Uncle Larry.

HOLLA -