The time to say I love you is now. The time to settle the argument is now. The time to give a hug, a kiss, a handshake, an enouragement is now. The time is now, and now I want to take the time. Funny how that works. When you have too little time, it seems an impossible task to grab more. When you have too much, it seems an impossible task to spend it. The time to live is now.

I want to live my life with as few regrets as possible. So, from now on, I'm going to:

Tell people I love them, now

Open all presents, now

Eat chocolate once a day

Exercise daily, but give up being guilty if I don't

Give up being guilty about anything

Dance more

Learn to play the bango

Tell people I love them, now

Keep my To Do List under control

Read more

Listen more, talk less

Eat vegetables once a day (but not spinach or beets)

Wear comfortable clothes

Give up panty hose

Tell people I love them, now

Finger paint

Hug the grandchildren, my spouse, my children

Run through rain puddles

Bake cookies

Tell people I love them, now

Dream more, worry les

Follow my dreams instad of just dreaming them

Relax more

Be sad when I am, happy when I am

Try to just be, not always do

Tell people I love them, now.

Someone you knew, liked or loved has died. You did not. Whatever the reasons for this turn of events, you have the oportunity to change your life to better reflect your dreams, passions and ambitions. Take a look at who you are, what you are doing, why you are doing it and begin to make the changes you want in order to live the life you want to be living instead of the one you are enduring.

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Bereavement Magazine by Darcie Sims
Reprinted in Compassionate Friends newsletter (The Healing Garden)

Thank you ((Alffe)).

It reminds me of when my dad's last surviving sister died recently. He has one brother left (out of 9). Her death hit me pretty hard for some reason, and I asked if I could speak at her funeral. ...Which I've never done in my life and wasn't even sure what I wanted to say, but knew it was something.

And what I said ended up being very close to what you just said. And as it happened, the pastor was surprised as it was pretty much what his funereal sermon was going to be about.

Pretty much I wanted to let all of my family there know that I loved them because I didn't know if I had ever told my Aunt Ella how much I loved her. A missed opportunity? So I took the moment, and let everyone know how much I cared. And to seize the day, every day, as much as possible. (Course, we know it isn't always easy when you're down in the dumps, but still...)