Carpe diem

Just a little story today...

Ann Wells from the Los Angeles Times writes:

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package... He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite, silk, hand-made - the price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached.

"Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least eight or nine years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion."

He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me.

"Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you are alive is a special occasion."

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death...

I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life... I'm not "saving" anything: we use our good china and crystal for every special event - such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom...

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now... I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and lustre to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes I tell myself that it is special.