To life.

Today I went to a funeral. The mother of a friend of mine passed away last week - this man went to high school with me and is actually one of very few people from my high school class that I am still in regular contact with. He and his wife both knew my first husband in university as well, and they’ve been an incredible support to me through all the interesting adventures I’ve been through. I felt that the least I could do was be there for them today, though I’d only met his mom a couple of times.

I am very glad I went. This woman had a full life - lots of travel, and time spent with her family and people she loved. I know she battled depression and other problems later on, but even with that, it didn’t stop her from REALLY LIVING.

I came away from the service with an even firmer determination to live the life I’ve been given, as fully as I possibly can. To spend time with the people I care about when I have the chance - the housework can wait, my friends and family should not come after “sweep floors” and “tidy up”. And I will take good care of myself because even though sometimes I feel like I have nothing to offer and I am just a burden to everyone, I know, deep down, that I do contribute, probably in ways I am entirely unaware of, and instead of disappearing, what I need to do is regroup, regain my strength, and then do whatever I am called to do to the best of my ability, trusting that somehow, somewhere, what I say or do will be a blessing to someone else as long as I did my best and acted in love and kindness.

Time is the most precious currency we have. Spend it well.

To life! SOCIABLE!*

*This is a Newfie custom: someone hollers SOCIABLE! (the emphasis is invariably on the last syllable, which gets sort of drawn out into “sociabuuuuulllll!”). Everyone in the room then raises their glass, regardless of what’s in it, or simply waves if they haven’t got a drink in hand, and hollers SOCIABLE! right back. It’s like saying “cheers”, only a little more interactive, since everyone within earshot joins in, even if they weren’t involved in the original conversation. You hear it hollered, you raise your glass and holler back, and return to your conversation. And there doesn’t have to be any particular reason to shout it out in the first place. It’s just the sociable thing to do.  

I believe that the world would be a better place if this custom were universally adopted.

All together now … Socaibuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulll!