Lessons in Living.......and Dying

Today I am going to say good bye to a dear friend who died suddenly of heart attack on Friday. She was a good friend, a beautiful person inside and out and sadly, only 47 years-old with a 6 year-old son. I plunged into a sea of sorrow and regret upon hearing of her death. She was one of those "seize the moment" type people and sadly again, I have trouble with that. She'd say "Hey what are you doing? Come on by." More often than not, I would say that I had a ton to do, the boys had activities and  I was tired, too tired. Now I find myself wishing that I had been more spontaneous. Wishing I had "seized the moment" and taken every opportunity to be with her. When we did get together, we laughed and laughed. We had some crazy times......really crazy times. We had fun every single time we were together!! Why didn't I do it more???? I think I spent to much time worrying about things that were not important. Was my house clean, was the laundry done, was my hair done, had I gained weight etc etc etc. These silly things stood in the way of experiencing spur of the moment fun, friendship and girl bonding. It seems so ridiculous now. I guess because I always thought there would be time to do it...later. Well guess what? Now it's too damn late.

I can't go back to change the story, so I can only ask myself, "What am I supposed to learn from this?"  Moving forward, I will try to:

1. Never put off spending time with loved ones, tomorrow isn't promised.
2. Be spontaneous. Do what will make me or my children happy at that moment. For example, a week night movie, ice cream after school, a quick trip to the park, a slurpee
3. Call my friends and family often and let them know how I feel about them.
4. Reconnect with old friends (friending them on facebook is not enough)
5. Take a girl's trip with my old friends (doesn't have to be long or expensive)
6. Make new friends, travel again and explore

I even made my kids Easter baskets this year which I had never done before because I thought that it was silly. I thought they never noticed, but I betcha they did. Thinking back to my childhood, I remember how happy I was when I got a basket. My Aunt Kim always took the time to make one. I loved the candy, I loved her and that little gesture showed me that she loved me......

RIP Lourdes.... I love you!