My mom sent this to me the other day…and after I read it…it really hit me hard.

For so many reasons…not the least of which is that my Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer last August. She is a twelve year breast cancer survivor…and proud of it. Cancer is rampant in my family. It took my Great Grandmother at 72 and my Grandmother at 52. My Mom has always had a fear that she would die young.

AND THEN IT IS WINTER

“You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

But, here it is… the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise…How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.

But, here it is…my friends are retired and getting grey…they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me…but, I see the great change…Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant…but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we’d be. Each day now, I find that just getting
a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore… it’s mandatory! Cause if I don’t on my own free will… I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so…now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did.

But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I’m not sure how long it will last…this I know, that when it’s over on this earth…it’s over. A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn’t done…things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I’m happy to have done. It’s all in a lifetime.

So, if you’re not in your winter yet…let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life…so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember…and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!”

No matter how many times we hear “life is short“, “live life to the fullest” and all that jazz we always kind of blow it off…and we push things, ideas, people, hopes & dreams  aside to care for later.  When we have more time.

Time is now. And there will come a day when that is all the time we have. And there will be no more. And we never can say exactly when that will be.

So…in the spirit of my Mom…go out and do something bold today. Do something you were putting off…or something that scares you. Half to death. Do it while you still have time.

Because not all of us do.

XOXO

~h