My heart is really heavy this week. As you know from my previous post, I lost a dear friend unexpectedly this week. Yesterday, my Uncle passed away. He had been stuggling w/emphasema (sp?) for years.

So, my homework assignment is twofold. One is that we are all in the process of leading a healthier lifestyle. In addition to eating and exercising, if you have any other "life threatening" habits, please stop and think about changing them. (Smoking, not wearing seatbelts, drug or alcohol abuse...) You don't have to admit to any of those, just something to think about. I think the one thing that stands out for me isn't necessarily that we'll live longer, but that we'll live better if we can try to maintain a healthy lifestyle. One of the last things my uncle said to my mom was "I'm ready to go. This isn't living."

The other thing I would like everyone to do, is to do something with a friend or relative, that you keep saying you'll do tomorrow...have lunch, write a letter, make a phone call, go visit. Tell that person how much they mean to you NOW. Last week when I had lunch with my friend, we thought we'd have lunch again this week and I feel comforted in the fact that I DID have lunch w/ her last week, and I hadn't call to say "Hey, Betty, I'm too busy today, can we do it next week."

Anyway, I'm not trying to bring everyone down. I'm just realizing our own mortality this week more than normal.

And I LOVE all of you.
Dawn

Dawn: The loss of someone you care deeply about is always hard, even the loss of someone you don't know is hard. I look at young faces in the news in Iraq and can cry buckets for what we are loosing....but I won't get political here. I am so sorry for the losses you are feeling.

Friendships between family and friends are hard to replace. We take so long to grow them, and then forget to keep watering them day by day. Before I read your message, I had written two friends that I made a promise to "keep in touch" with several months ago, I am thankful for your message, to mail those.

I pray that God brings you some peace and hope in these days. Remember the good things about those relationships...among the tears, it is okay to laugh. Big hugs. And thank you!

I'm so sorry hear of your losses. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I've already thought of a few I need to contact.

I decided to set aside all of sunday evening with my neice. My father has empasyma as well, and I watch him struggle every day. My neice is just finishing 8th grade today. She is at the age where many start smoking. I am planning on having a talk with her about ciggarettes. Her mother already has several times, but sometimes it is easier to discuss things with someone other than a parent.

Dawn, I'm sorry for everything you are going through this week. I am part of a very large, close knit family, and it is very difficult to lose those close to us.

Laurie

Dawn,
I am sorry to hear about your Uncle. Your post prompted me to practice our fire plan with dd and dh. Thanks.

Keeping you in thoughts and prayers, Dawn.

I had a rough start to summer last year. I went to 3 funerals in 6 days this time last June. We (students and teachers) get one free game of bowling all summer. We would bowl a game in the morning and go to a funeral in the afternoon.

I'll take your advice. I have a friend and we keep saying "When are we going out for lunch?" I won't put it off any longer.

Thanks!

Denise

Dawn
I'm so, so sorry to hear about the passings of your friend and uncle. I will be sure to keep you in my prayers.

Thanks for sharing, Dawn. Up until my mid-30s, I had been incredibly fortunate to have only had a few people close to me die and almost all were elderly folks who had lived a full life. But, in the 80s, the onset of AIDS changed that dramatically...many of my friends were gay men. I lost a lot of close friends to AIDS...my best friend had just turned 25 when he died...so I became well acquainted with the concept of losing someone well before you ever expected to have to say goodbye.

Losing so many friends in the prime of their lives was one of the two things in my life that really made me think about my own mortality. The other was turning 50. Especially when I realized that, between the two sides of my family, I had a history of just about every major disease there is.

My own health and quality of life was my primary impetus for starting this journey in the last quarter of my 50th year. Better late than never I always say. For those of you who are much younger than I, I'm so glad you're starting now. Healthy living is no guarantee of a long life or a good quality life. But it sure ups the odds.