A Story to Live By.
My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of
my sister's bureau and
lifted out a tissue-wrapped package.
"This,"
he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie."
He discarded the tissue
and handed me the slip.
It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed
with a cobweb of lace. The
price tag with an astronomical figure on it
was
still attached. "
Jan
bought this the first time we went to New
York, at least 8 or 9 years
ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for
a special occasion. Well,
I guess this is the occasion." He took the
slip from me and put it on
the bed with the other
clothes we were taking to the mortician. His
hands lingered on the soft
material for a moment, then he slammed the
drawer shut and turned to me.
"Don't ever save anything for a special
occasion. Every day you're alive
is a special occasion."
I remembered those words through the funeral
and the days that followed
when I helped him and my niece attend to all
the sad chores that follow
an unexpected death. I thought about them on
the plane returning to
California from the Midwestern town where my
sister's family lives. I
thought about all the things that she hadn't
seen or heard or done. I
thought about the things that she had done
without realizing that they
were special.
I'm still thinking about his words, and
they've changed my life.
I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm
sitting on the deck and admiring
the view without fussing about the weeds in
the garden. I'm spending
more time with my family and friends and less
time in committee
meetings. Whenever possible, life should be
a pattern of experience to
savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize
these moments now and
cherish them. I'm not "saving" anything; we
use our good china and
crystal for every special event-such as
losing a pound, getting the sink
unstopped, the first camellia blossom. I wear
my good blazer to the
market if I like it. My theory is if I look
prosperous, I can shell out
$28.49 for one small bag of groceries without
wincing. I'm not saving
my good perfume for special parties; clerks
in hardware stores and
tellers in banks have noses that function as
well as my party-going
friends. "Someday" and "one of these days"
are losing their grip on my
vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing
or doing, I want to see and
hear and do it now.
I'm not sure what my sister would've done had
she known that she
wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take
for granted. I think she
would have called family members and a few
close friends. She might have
called a few former friends to apologize and
mend fences for past
squabbles. I like to think she would have
gone out for a Chinese dinner,
her favorite food. I'm guessing -
I'll never know.
It's those little things left undone that
would make me angry if I knew
that my hours were limited. Angry because I
put off seeing good friends
whom I was going to get in touch with -
someday. Angry because I hadn't
written certain letters that I intended to
write - one of these days.
Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband
and daughter often enough
how much I truly love them.
I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold
back, or save anything that
would add laughter and luster to our lives.
And every morning when I
open my eyes, I tell myself that it is
special.
Every day, every minute, every breath truly
is... a gift from God.
If you've received this it is because someone
cares for you. If you're
too busy to take the few minutes that it
would take right now to forward
this to ten people, would it be the first
time you didn't do that little
thing that would make a difference in your
relationships? I can tell
you it certainly won't be the last. Take a
few minutes to send this to a
few people you care about, just to let them
know that you're thinking of them.
May love litter your life with blessings!
JUST SEND IT!!
"You've got to dance like nobody's
watching, and love like
it's never going to hurt."
"People say true friends must always
hold hands, but true friends
don't need to hold hands because they know
the other hand will always be there."