Suddenly *Not So* Single Journey

What are you waiting for?

Author: thenicknick

I had a post all ready for today.  It was a cute little post about what an idiot I am, since yesterday morning I managed to be so distracted that I went through the Chick-fil-A drive thru and only after rounding the speaker and being hemmed in…realized I had never actually placed an order.  They were really great about it, allowing me to order and pay at the window.  Sure there were three of them there, staring at me, but I deserved it.  And there was more to it…of course, but the reality is that life happened last night and it meant that I couldn’t, in good conscience, post about that this morning.

Last night it snowed some in Charlotte.  I was overwhelmed by the beauty of it, much as I was overwhelmed by the lines at the grocery store because of the snow.  (Yes, when there is a threat of inclement weather, the stores are systematically emptied of bread and milk.  I, however, bought breakfast food and everything Chinese…)  And I was further overwhelmed by the new guy’s show of concern.  He was worried about me driving.  I wasn’t.  I grew up in the Adirondacks.  I was simply worried some southerner would hit me.  And then he was further bothered at the thought that I might be alone in this weather.  Ummm.  And it was nice, a very nice change.

Circumstances resulted in me spending time with Jay and Spring and her girls.  We watched Bedtime Stories and talked.  They wanted me to spend the night, but I didn’t.  I wanted to be home…eventually to sleep and write.  And I had big Skyping plans…that meant I talked to Rain for just about five hours.  (For those of you doing the math…I ended up getting off the computer just shy of 4am.  I had to go.  As time wore on, I wasn’t getting any prettier…)

So that conversation, more than anything else that happened previously, changed my life.  To catch some of you up, he recently shared on his blog a story of his friend, Gabe, who was battling cancer and given a matter of weeks to live.  He even shared her last poetry slam (just as I’m about to do) because it is powerful stuff.  And when there is a message that should be spread, I try to do so.  As you may gather, Gabe passed away yesterday.  For those of us who didn’t know her and now will never get the chance, watching this may be the best we can do.

It’s powerful and thought provoking stuff.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to ask of my readers today.  What I knew for certain was that I wanted Gabe to be honored.  How do you honor a woman like that?  Do you light a candle?  Do you have a moment of silence?  What would Gabe like?  Well, I think that’s obvious.  Gabe would like us to live…truly live…and live truly.

All I could think about was how much time I had wasted on worthless pursuits.  I looked back on my night.  It wasn’t a total waste.  I spent time with people I cared about, lots of them.  I talked to the kids on the phone.  And I was proud of that.  Only, it wasn’t enough.  There’s no time like the present to change the course of my life.  And I think I’m on the right track.  I think I’m finally making some strong choices.  I’m listing for life and encouraging the kids to join me.  We have some worthwhile activities ahead of us.  And I don’t want to waste a minute.

Let’s face it.  If I did…Gabe would rail at me.  She’s watching us now.  She has our wings.  She’s all angel.  And I want to make her proud.  I want to live a worthwhile life.  That’s how I’m going to honor her message.  Now you.  What are you waiting for?

Quick Karma:

• live life right now

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at 9:20 am and is filed under Just Sharing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.