I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the fragility of life. How we take it for granted and how we put things off until ‘later, when we have more time.’
In my circle of acquaintances, there have been four deaths in the past month. One was an elderly person who had been fighting an illness for a long time – a blessing some would say, that his is no longer suffering. But the others have all been lives snuffed out far before they should have been.
A sudden illness, a tragic traffic accident, a mental health crisis. Families changed forever. And that doesn’t even count the friend with a nagging medical conditions, and another who had a scary sudden hospitalization. It really brings home how important it is to not put off dreams for ‘another day’.
That was one of the things that sparked my sabbatical, and I’m so grateful to have been able to take that time, even if COVID changed its design. I needed those months away from the hustle and bustle of the my crazy job to clear my head and fulfill a dream.
When I was a kid, my father’s company introduced a safety campaign. Why it struck me, and why it has stuck with me all these years, I’ll never know. But it did.
The slogan was simple: Life is fragile. Handle with care. My dad still has a toolbox with a sticker from that campaign on it. And it reminds me that we have to take care of ourselves, of our families, of our friends.
This past weekend, I was truly well taken care of. You can read more about the amazing book party my kids threw for me for my debut novel over on my author website. It was a special moment in time, when I had all three of my kids, and their partners, home for a few hours together. It happens so rarely, and I treasure every moment.
But this time, it was them taking care of me, which just bowled me over. As the party wound down, the out-of-towners started to slip away so they could get back to their normal lives, but not before making sure that everything would be cleaned up and put away for me. I didn’t lift a finger all day.
Today, the last of the balloons may have lost their helium, but I’m still riding the high. And a little part of me is starting to think about the next adventure. A second novel – very much still in draft form – may require a research trip to London in the next year or so. And if the last month has reminded me of anything, it’s to follow the old proverb: Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. So let the planning begin.
