Tuesday, October 17, 2017

This Life is NOW

A few months ago someone I had some virtual contact with, mostly in years back, let her Facebook friends know she had just suffered a calamitous loss. On what should have been a joyous father-son bonding trip, half her family was wiped out. Her husband and older son died while hiking, likely from heatstroke.


In one cruel swoop she was a widow, and the mother of one surviving son.


This horrific event was on the news, local and national. I read the reports over and over, as if re-reading would tell a different story, maybe with a happier ending. I woke up the next day with that feeling most would recognize. It’s that did this really happen thought, and a feeling of reality descending but not quite hitting the ground.


This did not happen to me. I could go on with my day and the days to come with my routine intact. But it did shake me up. The opening words of Joan Didion’s Year of magical Thinking kept echoing

Life changes in an instant.

It’s still a wake-up call for me. I tell my kitties I’m so happy they’re here. I look at people and places with gratitude. Nothing is permanent and most things are not for later, they are now.
Hugs, everyone.

24 comments:

Karen Jones Gowen said...

A tragic event that can change one's life in an instant, so sad and sobering. It can happen to anyone any time. A reminder to hold those we love close to us, not to waste precious time on negativity & selfishness.

Anonymous said...

Hugs to you also. Life surely can change in an instant. This last January I went to my usual yoga class. Had a cup of tea afterwards. Felt all lithe and alive. Two hours later I was admitted to the ER and had to be cardioverted. 'Out of the blue' scary. I'm okay now thanks to an ablation procedure, but I do not take anything for granted. The face you see today may not be there tomorrow. Give kisses and hugs when you can. Yes.

Barbara Etlin said...

Carpe diem, my friend.

You only need one of those wake-up calls to make you appreciate each day. Mine occurred when my father died suddenly and much too young.

Mirka Breen said...

Wise words from a wise woman^.

Mirka Breen said...

Oh, Helen.
And that tea... I'm guessing it had little to do with what followed.

Mirka Breen said...

One instant^ you wish you could rewind. Alas. {{{}}}

Anonymous said...

Naah, wasn't the tea. I had a birth defect in my heart wiring which I was unaware of. Sneaky thing.

Mirka Breen said...

Well, you're perfect now. ;)

Janie Junebug said...

That's so sad. Life is filled with moments that change us completely.

Love,
Janie

Mirka Breen said...

Cherish the moment may be a cliche, but it's repeated for a reason. We need reminding.

Vijaya said...

I know Mirka. It was indeed a call to love, to never defer love, and to repent.

Mirka Breen said...

Another linguistic cliche comes to mind, "a wake up call."

Unknown said...

Hugs, Mirka! Tragedies like that remind us to hold our loved ones near while we have them.

Mirka Breen said...

Yes, Katie. And I know you have had such a loss, so you know.

Donna OShaughnessy said...

I can imagine loss, I was a hospice nurse for decades, but I cannot imagine losing two in my family, a husband and a son, at the same time. When my three sons come to visit this Sunday as they do every Sunday I will be sure to tell them again "I love you!"

Kelly Hashway said...

This is heartbreaking. It does sober you to the fact that anything can happen in an instant. I lost a friend recently, and it was so sudden that it shook me up. We never know what's going to happen on any given day, so we can't take anything for granted.

Mirka Breen said...

How precious it is that all your sons come every Sunday. <3

Mirka Breen said...

Sorry about your recent loss, Kelly.

Esther Bar-lev said...

What can I add to such smart words?... Only... "Do it! Do it now!! Do it again and again!!! Love and hugs - Esther

Mirka Breen said...

Coming from one of the wisest people I've ever known, I will take this as a commandment, Esther.

Evelyn said...

'Love' and 'later' should never go hand in hand.

I love you, Mirka.

Mirka Breen said...

{{{ }}}

Traci VW said...

A sobering reminder that life is precious and short. Sending out hugs aplenty.

Mirka Breen said...

Hugs back, and keep painting!