| Stop for a moment, right here, right now and think
about the people closest to you, the ones you love and the ones
who love you. Imagine for a second what it would be like if any
one of them was suddenly taken away. Would you remember the last
time you saw them, what the last thing was you did together or
the last thing you said to them? Recently, my brother sent me an e-mail explaining he had created a web site and how there was a page created in memory of our mom who passed away suddenly five years ago. He explained that the site was still under construction and asked me to write something about Mom that he could use on it. For days and days I thought about what to write. Of course there was so much I wanted to say. I wanted to scold her for never letting us take her picture. Here on the site was pictures of Mom, rare they were and only when she happened to be looking away and didn't know we were about to snap a photo. There weren't many but so much more precious for just that reason. I wanted to thank her for my life, for being such a good mom and for helping to shape me into the person I am today. I know she would be proud of me even though I have many things, like all of us, that I need to work on. But she taught me basic human goodness and to always try to do what was right and good. Mom rarely went to church but she used to say she had a direct line to the big guy upstairs and she is the primary reason I have such a strong faith today. I decided to make it very short but to say the most important thing she taught me. "Mom's death has taught me one important thing about life and death. There is absolutely no way humanly possible that you could ever love anyone as much when they are with you as you do when they are gone." Take one more moment and thank God for those people who are so dear to you and mean so much to you and for those who love you even with all your imperfections. We take them for granted all too often and assume they will always be there when at any moment they could be taken away. Don't wait until it is too late. After 5 years I still sometimes think I have to call Mom and tell her something or ask her a question, then I remember I can't. Tell them you love them while you still can. Apologize while you still can. Spend time with them while you still can. Surprise them with a visit or a phone call while you still can. When you get right down to it, all we really have is the relationships we have with other people. That is all that is really important. That is all that really matters. The only time we can really discover just how important they are is when they are taken away. That is when you realize how you didn't love them enough. That is when you realize how much you love them now. That is when you realize you could have and should have shown them while you could. Kathy K. Reis Community Office Manager Woodlands Bank 213 West Fourth Street Williamsport, PA 17701 |
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