I don't know even where to start today. Yesterday was an unbelievable day. Even though my Fibromyalgia has been at its worse ever over the last few weeks and even though yesterday was one of my most painful days by the end of the day it didn't matter. It had been one of the most wonderful days for me. Signs throughout the day kept leading me to knowing what todays task would be on my "Taking for Granted" list. Today is about taking people for granted.
After work yesterday I had the daunting task of meeting my father at a furniture store where my husband and I had purchased a new dining room table and chairs. (Our first brand new piece of furniture we've ever bought ourselves!) When I walked into the store to sign the paperwork saying that we were here to pick it up, out of the corner jumps one of my young nieces with a big smile on her face. I just grabbed her and hugged her. Because of a situation I can't get into on here I don't get to see this niece and her sister very often anymore. In the past we use to watch these nieces, take them out places, etc. But now, it's been several months since we have gotten to spend more than a few moments with them other than in passing. What a joy to see her. Her big bright smile just warmed my heart. In the past, I took it for granted that I would always have the opportunity to see them (my nieces and nephews) whenever we wanted. But as my grandma had said, " you never know how good you have it until you lose someone."
This week a friend of the family, a former neighbor, passed away. She and I had shared birthdays when we had first moved next door and before she sold her home and moved away. I always took it for granted that I would someday run into her. As the days passed turning into months and then years, I always thought of her but never acted on getting in touch with her. Going to the funeral home this week I realized that I took it for granted that she would always be around. I soon began to regret not having seen her before she had passed. We need to realize that indeed life is short. Embrace and love those around you who you think may always be there because realistically we or they can be taken away at any moment.
While the task of spending more time with people whom I have taken for granted technically was supposed to start today I started it a bit last night. My (handyman handicapped) husband and I spent the entire night putting our brand new table and chairs together ourselves. We bonded. And today as I sit here I am reminded about how grateful I am that he is in my life.
OK OK. I'll behave and let go of the visual of Jeff and your construction job.
ReplyDeleteTaking for granted my son Scott would always be in my life is hard to accept that he chose not to be. This last Christmas was an eye opening I will not forget. It hit me that I might not ever have all 3 of my children together in the same room. In the past when I did have them all together I found myself looking at them and being so excited for the moment. Knowing those moments might never happen again kind of shakes you to your core and allows one to think about "taking things for granted".
It's for sure that when someone dies, (whether they are simply out of our life, or actually passed away), it does change our life in some way. We miss them, but the fact that we will never see them in this life again, is probably what changes us. My brother died of colon cancer several years ago at the age of 67. He has lived in California since the day he left college. In that time, I have gotten together with him maybe six times or so. In the last ten or so years, since we both had email, I conversed back and forth with him once or twice each week. When he died, I missed him. But it wasn't just the email that was the cause. It was in just knowing that he isn't there anymore that haunted me. And as with my friend Perri, it took me almost two years before I could bring myself to delete his email from my address book. It was almost as if I were to send something to this address, that it would somehow get to Heaven and he would see it. And that could, in a way, be true. But how would he answer me? Well I truly think that the best thing is to let him go, and adjust my life to suit. I will someday see him and all those who have passed first. I am not worried about that.
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