Max
New member
A friend of mine opened his wife's dresser drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package. He said to me, "This isn't any ordinary package." He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box. "She got this the first time we went to New York, 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it.” He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral home. His wife had just passed away. He turned to me and said, "Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion.”
I still think those words changed our lives. Now we read more and clean less. We sit and just talk without worrying about anything. We spend more time with each other, and less at work. We go to the health club every day together, to exercise and to feel good about ourselves. We finally understand that life should be a source of experiences to be lived up to, not survived through. We no longer keep anything for a special day. We use crystal glasses all the time. We wear new clothes to go to the supermarket if we feel like it. She doesn't save special perfume for special occasions. She uses it whenever she wants to. I wear my sport coat to take her out to dinner at the local restaurant, even though no one else there ever wears one. The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from our dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, we want to see it, listen to it, or do it now. I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning. This nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might even call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come. I would regret it, because I would no longer see the friends I would meet. I would regret and feel sad, because I didn't say to my family and friends, not enough at least, how much I love them. Now, we try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives. And, on each morning, we both say to ourselves that this could be a special day.
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special. If you are reading this, it's because someone cares for you and because, there's someone you care about. If you're too busy to tell this to the people you love, and you say to yourself that you will tell them "one of these days", remember that "one day" may be very far away.
Or it may never come.
Max
I still think those words changed our lives. Now we read more and clean less. We sit and just talk without worrying about anything. We spend more time with each other, and less at work. We go to the health club every day together, to exercise and to feel good about ourselves. We finally understand that life should be a source of experiences to be lived up to, not survived through. We no longer keep anything for a special day. We use crystal glasses all the time. We wear new clothes to go to the supermarket if we feel like it. She doesn't save special perfume for special occasions. She uses it whenever she wants to. I wear my sport coat to take her out to dinner at the local restaurant, even though no one else there ever wears one. The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from our dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, we want to see it, listen to it, or do it now. I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning. This nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might even call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come. I would regret it, because I would no longer see the friends I would meet. I would regret and feel sad, because I didn't say to my family and friends, not enough at least, how much I love them. Now, we try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives. And, on each morning, we both say to ourselves that this could be a special day.
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special. If you are reading this, it's because someone cares for you and because, there's someone you care about. If you're too busy to tell this to the people you love, and you say to yourself that you will tell them "one of these days", remember that "one day" may be very far away.
Or it may never come.
Max
