Live Like You Are Dieing. I Dare Ya

A Dad and His Kid

Yesterday's post about priorities received some great reviews from you, the reader, and I want to thank you for that. Today's post is a companion piece to yesterday's with an even more profound question - what if this were your last Christmas and you knew it? What would you do? I am post this not be depressing, quite the opposite actually. I present this article as a invitation for you to live - to live like you were dieing. It's an invitation from me to you to see the world with the mind of a man (or woman), but view it through the eyes of a child. I invite you to  observe and marvel at simple things. One of my favorite simple things in life is the dragonfly. Sounds a litle goofy, doesn't it? I developed an appreciation for dragonflies many years ago when I went fishing as a child. I delighted in the way they'd just sit on the tip of the fishing pole until they were disturbed. Years later, as a grown man I grew to like the dragonfly even more. When I would walked a mile or two into the woods of East Texas to one of my fishin' holes, I would pitch a plastic worm into the creek and fish it very slowly, occasionally twitching the tip of the rod. Soon, along came Senor Dragonfly to light on the very tip of my fishin' pole. I'd twitch the end of the rod, he'd hover a second or two over it waiting for me to hold still his perch on the tip of the rod. It was a kind of game we'd play until one of us moved on to find what we were looking for. At the next fishin' hole in the creek, I'd meet up with Senor Dragonfly's cousin and the game between us would begin anew, much to both our delights. It was real peaceful in the woods, just me the dragonflies and the Sounds of Nature, the music of God's Creation.

One day soon, I will teach my little girls how to befriend a dragonfly. I will watch them marvel at their new friend and I will marvel at their marveling, all the time thanking God for the Honor of being Issy's and Bailey's Daddy. That's a start to the countdown to my final Christmas. And a damn good start it is.

Read this when you can. The article isn't doom and gloom, so it's not too heavy. It is peppered with questions and what ifs and that it's main goal. To pepper you with those questions and what ifs so you'll exercise the gray matter (no matter how little..  :) ) between your ears. Having said that, the article may bring a tear to your eye as you ponder your response to each question in it. If you get a little "passionate" about your children like I do mine, you'd be best served finding a quiet place to read the post. It's OK to shed a tear or two of happiness, even if your are a big burly SOB. Live like you were dieing. It's cool, man. Because Toby said so.