I was all ready to kick off the week with the inspirational quote that has become on of my mantras for the year, to motivate my fellow ladies but then over the weekend I received some very shocking and sad news. A Sunday that started off calm, and productive finishing up my task of decluttering the attic, quickly turned to sadness. My neighbor, a hard working dad to a young boy, husband, son and such a wonderful person, so unexpectedly passed away, and all I could feel was disbelief. In an instant, a million questions filled my mind, “Why? How?” but then it turned quickly to his family, how he still had to so much life to live, so much to experience with his son and family, and I just couldn’t imagine what this dear family is going through, and my own family couldn’t help but feel exceptionally disturbed by this heartbreaking new.
Throughout the rest of the day, I couldn’t shake the feeling that life is oh so fleeting. And so precious, yet delicate, fragile and totally unexpected. I guess a part of me is still resentful for never getting the chance to give my proper goodbyes to my two dear aunts I lost within one week of each other in Portugal a few years ago, that I took the sudden passing of my neighbor extremely to heart. Of course worry set in. Lately you hear such tragic and sad stories, I couldn’t help but feel anxious, thinking of my loved ones here and family in Portugal, but then I remembered that this is the very reason none of us should be consumed with regret, or hate towards doing things we don’t want to or being someone were not. Each day of ours is too precious to not spend it on that that makes us smile.
So today, tell each person you care about how much you love them, and remember Dr. Seuss’s words…
Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it. – Dr. Seuss
