Somber

My mood is somber today.

The intent of this post is not to bring you down to this somber level with me, but to remind you of something very important.

I will be attending a funeral this afternoon for a friend who lost his mom to cancer this past weekend.  She was too young, and left a slew of family that will never get to hug her again.

I don't often talk about my religion, because honestly, I think I fall somewhere in the middle of all of them.  But I will say that it is comforting to me to believe in afterlife.  I believe that she is no longer fighting with those bad cells that chose her body to invade and take over.  She doesn't hurt anymore.  She will still get to watch her grandchildren graduate from high school, college, and walk down the aisle some day.  But on the other hand, it makes me sad to know that she won't be there physically to hug them.

It seems that whenever I lose someone close to me, the thing I think about the most is how I will miss their physical presence.  I lost my cousin Mark when I was 21.  He had very broad shoulders and huge strong arms and gave the best hugs in the world.  I remember thinking that there wasn't anything I could do to get just one more hug from him.  I couldn't pay anyone.  I couldn't get in my car and drive to see him.  I couldn't just wait until the next time we went to visit.  Because he wouldn't be there.  And I wouldn't get my hug.

I know it sounds cliche, but enjoy every minute of time that you spend with your friends and family.  Because you never know when it may be your last moment with them.  Lean heavily on those that you care about, and you know care about you.  Let yourself get close.  It will hurt like heck when they are gone, but then you will have those memories forever, and it will be worth it.

Go see your mom.  Go hug everyone you want a hug from.

Mark, I miss you.  I sure wish I could have one more hug.

XOXOX

NH