How Would You Live Out Your Last Days?

Today's post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writing Workshop. One was to choose a single word: angsty, excruciating, enchanted, bold, simple, and write a post around that word. The following post was already started yet felt that each word given in the prompt was important to highlight.

How Would You Live Out Your Last Days?
Angst

I’ve been thinking about this question over and over in my head this past week. Sometimes my answer is angsty realizing I would not have enough time to do all that I still want to do in my life. Other times the answer is more light-hearted, telling myself that I would make damn sure I tried every single flavor of ice cream.

Excruciating

Many of you have read my post Livestrong, Baby! where I mention my husband being diagnosed with cancer. It is mentioned briefly, because I didn't want to write too much about my feelings of this disease. It can be excruciating at times for me to go there and share. Did I fear losing my best friend? Yes. Did I cry in the shower? Every. Day. Did I pull off to the side of the road to cry before coming home to the kids? Yes. Do I get a pit in my stomach with each follow up visit, even now, almost 5 years later? You bet. Do I snuggle a little more and make sure I say “I love you” every day? Yes and Yes.

Imagine your 18 year old child, fearing having appendicitis, only to learn that they are suffering from Burkitts Lymphoma, one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. You help them fight the good fight and think it’s in remission, only to have it rear its ugly head a month later. It’s back with a vengeance, growing double in size throughout your child’s body every 12 hours. The doctors prepare your whole family with the news that you only have a week, maybe two, left to spend together. This is the life of a local young man and his family who are in the battle trenches this very minute. I listen to updates on the radio station each morning; choking back tears as the DJ’s, themselves, try their best to keep it together as they share his story. He celebrated an early Christmas with his family last week, not knowing if he would make it through the weekend.

Life gets put into a finite beam of perspective that you never thought possible when given this news.

Enchanted

The best part of this family’s Christmas celebration: the day was, in fact, enchanted. This young man was not sure he could muster the strength to share this special time with his family; yet as the day progressed, he found for a short two-hour window, he forgot that he had cancer.

Another place that can have that effect for a family, to forget for just a while that their loved one is seriously ill, is the Ronald McDonald House. My cousin spent months in Baltimore, MD at Johns Hopkins fighting and overcoming leukemia and a bone marrow transplant. The RMH was a place for my Aunt and Uncle to feel home-away-from home and to find, as well as offer support with other families going through the same struggles. When contacting my local RMH, I had no idea that they had a Wish List , full of every day items such as food, cleaning items and even gift cards. Please check out your local RMH and see how you can help offer a hand to those who really need it.

Bold

While in the middle of preparing this post, more sad news crossed the wire. Elizabeth Edwards passed away at the age of 61.

I applaud Elizabeth for making the bold decision to tell cancer to go fuck itself; she was going to die the way she wanted, not be dictated to by how the disease wanted to take her.

“In a message posted on her Facebook page, Elizabeth Edwards addressed her family and friends:

"The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human," she wrote.

"But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know." –excerpt from CNN.com

I’m glad she had the chance to tell her family and friends good-bye, in her own way.

Simple

I know this is a heavy topic for today, but sometimes life whispers to you in a small way to make sure you pay attention to the important things in your life. You find that it is the simple things that you want to remember: the feel of sand between your toes, a snowflake on your nose, the smell of your child’s hair, an embrace of a friend or loved one, to view a sunrise or sunset, or it could be as simple as savoring every flavor of ice cream.

How would I live out my last days?

I would hope that I have the opportunity to surround myself with those I love, laugh as much as possible and know that I have lived the best life I could possibly live.

I pose that same question to you: 

How would you live out your last days?

Now, get out there and live. Carpe Diem!


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