Life Is Too Short To Wait

Life takes the strangest twists and turns, and I am just along for the ride.
I have been thinking about this post for many days and just wasn't exactly sure how to write it.
So I just decided to jump in.

No nothing untoward has happened, I have just so many thoughts floating around in my head I needed to find a way to express them.

Last week, one week exactly ago, I had the privilege of participating (watching), through the magic and power of fabulous technology, the funeral of Jeremy Bear, which took place in Australia. Jeremy is the brother of some of my closest, dearest friends and also someone I have known, because of my friendships with his family, since I was a teenager. I obviously wasn't as close to him as many others were but I was still extremely saddened as I followed his journey battling melanoma cancer. Jeremy was a fantastic guy. He was someone that touched many peoples lives with his kind heart and gentle manner. He was a wonderful husband to his beautiful wife and a fantastic father to his 3 adorable kids.I was touched by the many beautiful things that were said about him during the funeral by his family and close friends. It made me think. 
I have pondered many things. The reasons we are here, why the Lord would call back someone with a young family that needs him and why we, all of us, need to suffer though such sadness?
I am sure each of us could come up with all kinds of answers to questions like these. The fact is, none of us really know the answers. I have things I believe, and you may share those beliefs or even understand them differently to me, or you may believe something entirely different. It doesn't really matter. What matters is what we take from situations like this. What can we learn to do better.
Here is what I took from the sadness of losing Jezz and his example to me.

Family is the most important thing there is.
In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
I believe we all get caught up in our own very fast paced life and we do miss what is going on around us.
I live in a place I love. Mike and I have been so blessed to be able to create for our family a wonderful life. I believe with everything I am, that this is where we are supposed to be living. I know that if we weren't here, we wouldn't have the girls with us. And I know they are supposed to be here with us!
But, living here in America means not getting to be a a part of life with my side of the family. Mike has a great family, that I love. I couldn't imagine our life without them in it.
But he, through circumstance, is an only child and his father passed away 10 years ago. While he has extended family who are fantastic, we only get to see them for large family gatherings, which sadly only happen occasionally. His mom is the only family that we get to spend time with on a regular basis. We all love to see Grandma. She is fantastic and there is nothing like spending time with people that love you no matter what.
My family is big. 10 kids. 7 of us are married and my parents have 26 grand children (including my 6) That is a lot of family that my kids are missing out on.
It was that thought that spurred my decision to JUST DO IT! You've all heard that nike slogan before. I used to just do it, all the time. But as a parent with bills and the every day living of life, I have stopped just doing it, for fear that I might do it wrong. I might make a choice that I will later regret. I especially feel that way when the decisions are about spending money, a lot of money.
But after Jezz passed away, and before, when I saw his brother and sister in law, do everything they could to get over to Australia to spend just a little more time with him before he passed, and then watched the videos of the time they had there and the enjoyment that came from it, I realized something.
I realized that it shouldn't be about all the other things I could spend that kind of money on (because believe me there are a lot of things) it should be about the experience of my kids getting to know my family, or for some of them, getting to meet them for the first time.
It should be only about the memories that they will get to make with their family.
It should be about the TIME that they will get to spend together, because none of us know exactly how long we have here.
We shouldn't waste a second of it worrying about how much it costs.
We should worry about what memories are we making with our kids, because in the end that is all we have when we die. Memories of time spent together.

So I say, just do it. Live like you are dying. Do the things that make you happy. Visit the place that you have always wanted to go. Make memories. Life is much to short.

So THANK YOU Jezz for your example.
For giving me the push I needed to JUST DO IT! 

I am so excited for us (all 8 of us) to get on that plane and make the trip and some fabulous memories. 10 years is too long.

                                                   AUSTRALIA HERE WE COME! 

                                                                    So you better
                                                                      Watch out ;)