"Stop and Smell the Roses"

Is it me or does bad news come in waves for everyone? It seems lately all I have been hearing is bad news. It started when I learned a high school friend of mine's husband had died. I hadn't seen my friend lately and didn't even know her husband was sick. 

Since the funeral was in another state I decided to call her. When she answered the phone I was immediately taken back to high school when we used to talk all the time. Georgia was one of my best friends back then and we even had a radio show together our tenth through twelfth grade years.

I also remembered clearly that when my mother died it was Georgia who came to the house and sat beside me during the visitation. She made sure the responsibility for conversation didn't fall on me. I never forgot her kindness and I reminded her of it when I called to try and console her.

We talked for over an hour and it was not just about sad things. We talked about all our mutual friends and what they are doing. Georgia has always been a fountain of knowledge about all things that happen in Clinton, South Carolina. And by the time she gave me the complete rundown we had talked for over an hour. We said our good-byes and ended on an upbeat note. Still it pained me to think of the sad times ahead of her as the reality of her loss sinks in.

A few days later I learned another friend of mine has been diagnosed with cancer and it is terminal. This all came about quickly and sent me into shock. Once again I was reminded of how quickly our lives can change. One moment we are fine and the next we are facing eternity.

Over the years of our marriage I have always told my wife and children that something isn't a problem if it can be fixed with money. Recently I forgot that. We had an air-conditioning unit break down. Replacing it was costly. Then the other unit acted up and we had to have the fan on it replaced. Another costly expenditure. Then we had a leak in the upstairs bathroom and water came through the ceiling. The deductible was costly. And finally we replaced the garbage disposal and it was a high price.

I kept going around saying what next! I said that until I got the message about these two friends and what they were going through. Then I shut up. These things can be fixed with money and that means they are not a problem. I had forgotten my own mantra.

I also had forgotten these phrases - "It's not what you earn but what you learn. It's not what you spend but where you end." Those words are so true. We should strive to learn to be better and better people; and we should live our lives so that at the end we know where we will spend eternity.

And finally we should all remember to stop and smell the roses, or as Tim McGraw sings "Live like we are dying." 

 

 

 

 

 

©2006 Jackie K. Cooper

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