Reader Comments - A Reader from Texas

Being around to see your children grow up is something that is taken for granted…we just assume we’ll be there when they go on their first date, graduate high school, pick their college, pick their mate, have children, raise their children. Too often parents don’t always get that opportunity. If you could live like you were dyin’, wouldn’t you change some of the things you say and do…especially for your children. Our children are the most important part of our legacy we leave behind. It’s not what you do day to day it’s what they take from what you teach and show them. We all know it’s going to happen one day but always think we have more time. More time…what exactly does that mean? Human nature is to put off things until you have more time…but we never know just how much "more time" is. Dying before you’re "ready" is like dying before you finished the book you were writing, the song you were writing, the house you were designing. You do all you can do to make sure your spouse knows how much we love them, but do they ever really know? If you knew that one day your spouse would be living their life without you…would they know just how much they meant to you? A lot of us would have to honestly say no. Why? Because we always think we’ll have next weekend to spend with them or your next anniversary to buy a more meaningful gift…how often do we entertain the thought that we won’t have that chance. A parent’s job is never over, but you expect to have enough time to instill all the values, beliefs, morals, lessons, etc that every parent hopes to instill…sometimes it doesn’t always work out that way. And then later you think…if only I’d known. To live one year as if it were your last year is something that we should all do. It’s sad to think that we would change our parenting style if we did know, but it’s true for most of us. How many times a day does a mom or dad say, "in a minute, tomorrow, next weekend, or how about this one…when you get older"? What if that time never comes. My daughter asked the other day about God…we spoke on it briefly but told her we’d talk about it more when the time was right. Only until thinking about "living like you were dying" did my thoughts change…immediately did I feel regret and sadness because what if I never got that chance. A big part of a parent’s job is to teach them about spirituality…what if I were the only person that God put into her life to lead her in that direction…and something happened to me and I passed up that opportunity. What a horrible thought for a parent…with that one decision I made, her whole life could change. That might have been my one window of opportunity to teach her about salvation…and then it’s gone. Luckily I feel certain that is not the case but, what if it were? This has been an inspiration to me and this is a story that all should read…not just once but often…as a reminder that each day should be thought of as your last. What legacy will I leave behind is a question that crossed my mind only after hearing this story. believe it or not there are people that never think of that…how much are their children missing out on because of it? What will we have accomplished and contributed when that day comes. I can assure anyone who reads this story will change at least one thing about the way they live…I know I will. What will you change? Will you make sure you’re not too busy to come listen to their bedtime prayers, read their favorite story "just one more time", or miss that performance at school next Wednesday that interferes with your lunch meeting? I know I’ll be changing a few things on my calendar. If you know you only have 30 days to finish your job as a parent…just what would it be that you would teach them? I bet it wouldn’t be that it’s okay to put off spending time with the ones you love. Have you ever gazed at the stars with your kids, what about stories about their grandparents or loved ones they never got the change to know. Have you told them about the grandfathers they should be so proud of who fought in the great Revolutionary War…who fought to give them the freedoms they now enjoy? Did you drive them by the house you grew up in?.

So why wait …do it today. Open their bedroom door one more time tonight after they fall asleep…watch their little chest rise and fall as you did when they were first born, fill in those empty pages in the baby book, have those rolls of film developed, jot down those things you want to say when they get the news their going to be a parent, tell that story you keep meaning to tell, sit them on the kitchen counter as you make your secret sauce, hug them like you’ve never hugged them before…give them the butterfly kisses you used to when they were little…play along with the silly knock -knock jokes they like to make up…let them dance on the kitchen table to your favorite Elvis song…don’t worry about the mess that finger-painting makes…just do it! One day might be too late.

--A reader from Texas