"Don't Put off Today..."



   The following was sent to me as an E-Mail. I don't remember the title, so I  
   am calling it " Don't Put off Today..."


   I hope you enjoy it. If you want, cut and paste it and send it out to a
   friend,as suggested, today!

   Don't Put off Today...

 
   My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and I
   lifted out a tissue-wrapped package.  "This," he said, "is not a slip. 
   This is  lingerie."  He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. 
   It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. 
   The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached.  

   "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at  least 8 or 9 
   years ago.  She never  wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion.
   Well, I guess this is the occasion."  He took the slip from me and put it on 
   the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician.

   His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed 
   the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special 
   occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."

   I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed 
   when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow 
   an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to
   California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I 
   thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I  
   thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they 
   were special.

   I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm 
   reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring 
   the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending 
   more time with my family and friends and less time in committee 
   meetings. 

   Whenever possible,life should be a pattern of experience to savor, 
   not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

   I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every 
   special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the
   first camellia blossom. 

   I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I 
   look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries 
   without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; 
   clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function 
   as well as my party-going friends'.

   "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my  
   vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see 
   and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have done 
   had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take 
   for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few 
   close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize 
and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone 
out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing-I'll never know.

   It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew 
   that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good Friends 
   whom I was going to get in touch with-someday. Angry because I hadn't 
   written certain letters that I intended to write-one of these days. Angry 
   and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how 
   much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back,
   or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.
   And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. 

   Every day, every minute, every breath truly is...a gift from God.

   If you've received this it is because someone cares for you and it means 
   there is probably at least someone for  whom you care. If you're too busy 
   to take the few minutes that it would take right now to forward this to
   ten people, would it be the first time you didn't do that little thing
   that would make a difference in your relationships?   I can tell you it 
   certainly won't be the last.  I don't have to make up silly stories about 
   people being hit by buses or crushed by falling disco balls for not 
   sending this letter on. 

   You've seen the result of this neglect in your own relationships that you 
   have allowed to fade, dissolve, and fall into disrepair. Take this 
   opportunity to send this to a few people you care about, just to let them 
   know that you're thinking of them.  It's even better if they're not the
   people you already correspond with every week.

   People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't 
   need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be 
   there."

   -unknown

   (Thank you Alice for sending this to me!)

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