Thoughts to Ponder (off-topic)

[Christopher D. Purdy]

Avery,

Thanks for sharing this.  I'm a sentimental person too.

chris

>List,
>
>   I'm sort of a sentimental type of person anyway, so I'm putting this
>article I received from a relative onto this list in the hopes that it
>might mean something to some of you as it does me. We all tend to get caught
>up in our day to day life, with jobs and family, and sometimes overlook
>doing/saying some things that later we regret not having done/said.
>   I just went to an aunt's funeral a week ago. When I was in Jr. High
>School, she lived with us and bought me my first piano in lieu of rent.
>She lived less than 1-1/2 hrs. away from me now and I only went to visit
>her once since I moved to Houston. I will forever regret that and vow
>to try and not let the same type of thing happen again.
>   My apologies if this type of thing on the list offends anyone.
>
>Avery
>
>===========================================================================
>
>A Story To Live By, by Ann Wells (Los Angeles Times)
>
>My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted
>out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is
>lingerie."  He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was
>exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. 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 8 or 9 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're 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 thought about them on the plane returning to California
>from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about
>all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the
>things that she had done without realizing that they were special. I'm
>still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading
>more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view
>without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with
>my family and
>friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should
>be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize
>these moments now and cherish them.
>
>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. I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like
>it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small
>bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for
>special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses
>that
>function as well as my party-going friends'.
>
>"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 not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she
>wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she
>would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have
>called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles.
>I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite
>food. I'm guessing - I'll never know.
>
>It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew
>that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom
>I was going to get in touch with - someday. Angry because I hadn't written
>certain letters that I intended to write - one of these days. Angry and
>sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I
>truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back or save
>anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning
>when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every
>minute, every breath truly is...a gift from God.


-Christopher D. Purdy R.P.T.   School of Music  Ohio University  Athens OH

-purdy@oak.cats.ohiou.edu   (614) 593-1656    fax# (614) 593-1429