This weekend a close friend of the family has died. (She was the mom of Brian’s childhood friend and like an aunt to him.) We are still in shock because it happened very quickly. We were just with her two weeks ago at Matthew’s baptism. She had cancer and was just starting chemo but the doctors were optimistic that she could beat it. However, there was a complication with her treatment and on Saturday she fell into a coma. By early Sunday morning she passed away. Her son and daughter never had a chance to speak to her and say their goodbyes. Everything happened so quickly.
It is a somber reminder of how fleeting this life is and how we need to make the most of the time we have here. It also puts into perspective all the trivial things in life that cause us to get upset. When you consider the crosses that we could be carrying, we actually have it pretty good. So today I will give an extra hug to those I love and when I feel my impatience starting to rise, I’ll take a deep breath and be thankful for my blessings instead.