•   A Story To Live By
  •  
  •    My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau
  •     and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package.  "This," he said, "is 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.
  • by Ann Wells (Los Angeles Times)
  •    "You've got to dance like nobody's watching, and love like it's
  •       never  going to hurt."
  •    "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
  •    "Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
  •    'Pooh' he whispered.
  •    'Yes, Piglet?'
  •    'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw.
  •    'I just wanted to be sure of you.'"
  •    i will not drag you along; i will not leave you alone; i will
  •    stand by youand have my hand there
  • for you to hold when you need to.