Why wait?

I know I have not posted in a while. Life has been pretty busy. We have been selling Girl Scout cookies left and right. We mowed the yard and the kids raked the leaves. We traveled home to Hunter for Easter and Harvey rolled over from his stomach to his back last night. However, with all that going on, that is not what I really want to write about.

Last week, Jason and I lost a friend. Krista Stock, wife of Jeremy, died of a heart attack at age 32. Yes, a heart attack at 32. Even though I had not seen or actually talked to Krista in a few years, I still considered her a friend. She was there for me during a hard time in my life and I had hoped to be there for her in the same way. I never got the chance. Krista was one of those people that always spoke her mind and I respected her for it. It was who she was.  I loved her smile and laugh – both were so contagious – and both I miss and will miss severely. I considered myself very lucky to have known Krista.

The thing of it is –when tragedy like this happens, so many people use it as a reason to do one of two things; make changes in their lives or reconnect with people they haven’t talked to. People are notorious for saying things like “wow- I am going to spend more time with my kids,” “I am going to take better care of myself” or “I am going to work less and relax more.” Why do we have to wait for something tragic? Why can’t we be the person we want to be on a daily basis? Why can’t we just pick up the phone, type up an email, write a letter or even send a text message when we feel the want and or desire to talk to someone? Do we really need the wakeup call of our own mortality to look around and see who is missing or what we want to change? I know I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to this. “Tomorrow I will go for a walk.” “The laundry can wait.” “Oh I will email her tomorrow.” “I should really call him- I don’t remember the last time I talked to him.” “Facebook keeps me updated.”Ugh –Facebook. Facebook is not a voice. Facebook is a webpage and sometimes it never tells the full story. The only way to get the full story is to reach out and say hello.

Each one of us knows the things we could do better and don’t. We know that we need to relax more, spend more time with our families and less time with work or even take better care of ourselves. If you want, start by making a small change and only one change at a time. If you choose to spend more time with your kids –leave work early one day a week to spend an extra 30 minutes with them at home. Even the smallest gestures can have big rewards.

If you want one more thing to think about, I challenge each of you to reach out to one person you haven’t connected with in the last year – really connected with (Facebook does not count). Everyone has at least one person like this - maybe it’s a family member or college friend. It does not matter. By the end of the week – make a call, send an email, write a letter, or just stop by and say HI to someone you haven’t talked to in a while. I bet it will make your week and their week just a little brighter.