Standing on my Soap Box

Here we are the week of Christmas. The last blog I sent was in August. It was right after my mom passed. Well, for those of you who don’t know, five weeks after my mom passed I lost my dad.

So here are my reflections on Christmas post loss.

Life is precious – a long time ago I wrote a blog on getting along with others. It had to do with the loss of my brother, and how while standing at the grave site everyone around me had someone to cry with… except me. The one I should have been held by and mourned with on the passing of someone so young (He was 20) was who they were putting in the ground. Put petty differences away. In the grand scheme of life things and differences aren’t important. People, relationships, and memories are ALL you will have when they are gone.

Live a life with no regrets – my mom lived with regret because of things that were said between her and her siblings, She went many years not speaking to some of them. In reality some of my cousins have kids that I have never met. We are not that close. She also lived with extreme regret for the mistakes she feels she made with Colin (my brother). I however have no regrets for how I treated my parents in their final years. I can live with a clear conscience. I respected them, I listened to their opinions (doesn’t mean I did what they suggested).

Have fun – in order to have memories, you need to do things. I get that life is serious I understand that for some people money is tight. I am not saying you have to go out and spend big bucks to do things. A family games night (hey did you know that games are for fun, and if rules aren’t followed its not a big deal, relationships are more important than followed rules). A walk in a park. I have a couple parks that I’ve walked with friends with. I drove though Kildonan Park a few weeks ago, and remembered a Good Friday in 1986 when I horsed around in a park with three other friends. Those memories popped in my mind and brought a smile to my face. That walk didn’t cost me anything.

Take time – I know life is busy, and I know that we are in the midst of COVID-19, but did you know that it is still legal for you to drop off a card at someone’s doorstep or in the mail. I have people who reach out to me every couple weeks just to check up on me. It doesn’t cost them anything, but it makes me feel good that people are around and are praying for me.

Have I done this all? Nope… but I am learning. I know I have a long way to go, and with Christmas around the corner, life is just a little bit harder this year. So… LOVE deeply and without limits. You have no clue what is around the corner. So make the memories – even if they have to be virtual. You never know when they will creep up and place a smile on your face. Trust me… those memories are better than tears of regret.