I know you have all heard this before...

[sparkle]

...but I can't stress it enough. Please remember your friends and family, especially those people you haven't talked to or visited for quite some time. Please get in touch with them...don't wait until it's too late.

 

I just found last night that my close friend Steve passed away. I'd known him for 9 wonderful years, but these past few months, I was so caught up doing my own thing that I rarely found a chance to talk to him. And I kept pushing off the most simple phone call..just to say hello..

 

Steve had a heart attack while he was home alone a few days ago. His body wasn't found until 20 hours later...when a worried neighbor finally checked up on him. He was only 45.

 

He seemed perfectly healthy. He was the last person I'd expect to pass away.

 

Please keep in touch with your family and friends.

 

Please check up on them if it's been longer than usual since you've talked to them, especially if they live alone or something doesn't feel right.

 

Please take care of yourself also. If you're overweight, if you have a drinking problem, if you smoke...whatever it is, make an effort to improve your health. And if your friends have these problems, get on their back about making a change and becoming healthier.

 

And just now...I receive a phone call about another family friend who passed away. She had breast cancer, and it was detected too late. Ladies...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE perform the simple self-exams or see your doctor when recommended.

 

If you're only making one new year's resolution this year, let it be to think of your loved ones before it's too late.

[Lil' Jinx]

Weird! I came across your post after posting my message about my friend dying. I was still composing my post when you had posted yours. I haven't read many posts regarding this topic on this forum.

 

I feel so much regret for not spending more time with my friend.

 

Lil Jinx

...but I can't stress it enough. Please remember your friends and family, especially those people you haven't talked to or visited for quite some time. Please get in touch with them...don't wait until it's too late. I just found last night that my close friend Steve passed away. I'd known him for 9 wonderful years, but these past few months, I was so caught up doing my own thing that I rarely found a chance to talk to him. And I kept pushing off the most simple phone call..just to say hello.. Steve had a heart attack while he was home alone a few days ago. His body wasn't found until 20 hours later...when a worried neighbor finally checked up on him. He was only 45. He seemed perfectly healthy. He was the last person I'd expect to pass away. Please keep in touch with your family and friends. Please check up on them if it's been longer than usual since you've talked to them, especially if they live alone or something doesn't feel right.

 

Please take care of yourself also. If you're overweight, if you have a drinking problem, if you smoke...whatever it is, make an effort to improve your health. And if your friends have these problems, get on their back about making a change and becoming healthier. And just now...I receive a phone call about another family friend who passed away. She had breast cancer, and it was detected too late. Ladies...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE perform the simple self-exams or see your doctor when recommended. If you're only making one new year's resolution this year, let it be to think of your loved ones before it's too late.

[Tony T]

My sympathy goes to you and your family for these recent losses. And I really do appreciate your post. Everything you said is oh so true and so often we take people we love for granted...like they'll be around forever.

 

And you've made some terrific points. We need to be sure we take care of ourselves and encourage others to do the same.

 

For any person, anywhere, each day could be their last. One day we will reach for the phone to call him or her and, in a flash, remember they are no longer reachable. That's happened to me many times.

 

I, too, am guilty of not keeping up with friends at times. But there's really no excuse. Life is delicate and finite. We walk around thinking all this is going to last forever. But the fact remains there is just no way to ever know. Some babies die at birth, others live well into their nineties and beyond.

 

I think we most choose, subconsciously, to ignore the fact that all this will be over one day.

 

It's ashame that sometimes we need a reminder like the one you have posted to make us realize that life is so fragile and we need to treat the ones we love...and even just the people about us...with kindness and love because all that happens here is so very temporary.

 

"Life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one." - Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

 

"Love knows not its own depth, except in the hour of separation." Unknown

[Daria]

Dear Sparkle,

 

Please accept my deepest sympathy. Keeping in close touch with the loved ones and valuing each day as if it were our last may sound to some like an overused cliche...until it becomes a reality.

 

My brother passed away unexpectedly, in his sleep, at the age of 37. His wife was sleeping next to him when died, and his 11-year-old son was in the next room. My brother and I loved each other but were never very close - spiritually, as well as geographically. We spoke on the phone only 2-3 times a year, and for the rest of the time we relied on Mom to pass the news back and forth. Before he died, I could have come up with a long list of reasons why I didn't make the effort to communicate with him more often. Now, when he is gone, none of these reasons seem to measure up to the void he left in my life and my heart.

 

My message is: THERE ARE NO GOOD REASONS to not pick up that phone today, send that email or write that letter or a card. Love your loved ones while they are alive. Flowers brought to a grave yard are a sad attempt to make up for that phone call that never happened.

...but I can't stress it enough. Please remember your friends and family, especially those people you haven't talked to or visited for quite some time. Please get in touch with them...don't wait until it's too late. I just found last night that my close friend Steve passed away. I'd known him for 9 wonderful years, but these past few months, I was so caught up doing my own thing that I rarely found a chance to talk to him. And I kept pushing off the most simple phone call..just to say hello.. Steve had a heart attack while he was home alone a few days ago. His body wasn't found until 20 hours later...when a worried neighbor finally checked up on him. He was only 45. He seemed perfectly healthy. He was the last person I'd expect to pass away. Please keep in touch with your family and friends. Please check up on them if it's been longer than usual since you've talked to them, especially if they live alone or something doesn't feel right.

 

Please take care of yourself also. If you're overweight, if you have a drinking problem, if you smoke...whatever it is, make an effort to improve your health. And if your friends have these problems, get on their back about making a change and becoming healthier. And just now...I receive a phone call about another family friend who passed away. She had breast cancer, and it was detected too late. Ladies...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE perform the simple self-exams or see your doctor when recommended. If you're only making one new year's resolution this year, let it be to think of your loved ones before it's too late.