Enjoy Every Moment Because You Just Never Know…
A few weeks ago, Bill and I started the weekend early. On Friday, he worked a half-day and we spent the afternoon playing pool volleyball with our pals. Afterward, we went home and made a spaghetti dinner.
On Saturday, we tooled around Saint Augustine, acting like tourists. We shopped in the historic district, ate a lunch of tortilla chips, salsa, queso, and a large plate of nachos at Casa Reina, and then spent too much money at Kernel Poppers, taking our time choosing various cheese-flavored popcorn - Cheddar Cheese, Beer Cheese, Spicy Cheese, and Chicago Blend. We never stray far from the cheeses and always get the buy-three-medium-bags-and-get-one-bag-free deal, which is a lot of popcorn, but it brings us joy.
Everything was going great until Sunday afternoon when we disagreed about something. At this point in time, I don’t remember what the issue was, but by “disagreed,” I mean “loud yelling and one of us throwing garlic bread sticks before stomping out the door.”
We are not perfect, and that’s how it goes occasionally. Sometimes, you’re cuddling on the couch, feeding each other popcorn, and sometimes, you’re hurling bread products around the kitchen.
Later that evening, after some stewing (me) and an apology (him), everything was hunky dory. We made a few compromises and the rough edges were smoothed. Still, I went to bed that night with my mind replaying the turned-up-to-the-loudest-volume “I’m sick of this sh*t” I yelled before I slammed the front door and took a long walk until I cooled down.
A few days later, I was scrolling through Facebook and noticed a post from someone I knew in middle school whose child was recently diagnosed with cancer. My friend’s little boy recently had surgery, has a long recovery ahead of him, and won’t be starting school this fall with the rest of his class, which is heartbreaking.
It’s mindblowing how one day you have a healthy kid who is enjoying summer running through the sprinkler and playing kickball and a week later, you’re caught up in the world of doctors, hospitals, tests, operations, needle jabs, medical jargon, and a horrible maze of health insurance when you SHOULD be school shopping and getting excited about starting third grade.
I keep thinking about how quickly things change, how the life of someone you care about can suddenly be altered forever, and how – oh, this feels trite – short life is.
I don’t want to be that angry girl who throws breadsticks across the kitchen. I want to be kind, peaceful, happy, and enjoy – no LOVE - as many moments as possible of this life I’ve been given.
What if that Sunday afternoon was the last one Bill and I spent together?
My gosh.
Don’t waste time being jealous, bitter, or angry. And tell someone how much you care about them. Because holy sh*t, you never know.
