The Long and Winding Road

I promised myself that when I started this blog, it wouldn’t get too serious or personal. Recently, a family event occurred that has really struck a chord with me, and I think the overall theme is worth sharing. When I was a little girl, my father’s younger brother disappeared, never to be heard from again. Over the years, questions arose as to his whereabouts. Did he have a family? What did he do for work? Did he know that his parents had passed away years earlier? As the internet entered our lives, the occasional online search was attempted with no success.
Recently we learned the unfortunate news; he had passed away after losing a long battle with cancer. Suddenly, details emerged about his life. The picture of an incredibly generous and selfless man appeared. He moderated a website and built computers for people in need. I reached out to his online community, and was touched to hear stories of their personal experiences. For the past week, I have been reviewing over 5 years of correspondence and gathering information about this uncle I barely knew. As the portrait started to breathe life, I discovered that he and I were eerily similar; we shared a favorite book, a TV show, Freecycle, sharing information and embracing all things technology. I couldn’t help but feel tremendous sadness and at the same time, joy in finding each new detail. The story continues to unfold and in the process, faith in human kindness has been restored. But let me get to the point….

After 33 years of no communication, it was revealed that he was days away from making contact with his family. Sadly, he passed away before it happened.

Don’t wait.


“Live Like You Were Dying” – Tim McGraw

He said: "I was in my early forties,
"With a lot of life before me,
"An' a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
"I spent most of the next days,
"Looking at the x-rays,"
"An' talking 'bout the options an' talkin’ ‘bout sweet time."
I asked him when it sank in,
That this might really be the real end?
How’s it hit you when you get that kind of news?
Man whatcha do?
An' he said: "I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."
He said "I was finally the husband,
"That most the time I wasn’t.
"An' I became a friend a friend would like to have.
"And all of a sudden goin' fishin’,
"Wasn’t such an imposition,
"And I went three times that year I lost my Dad.
"Well, I finally read the Good Book,
"And I took a good long hard look,
"At what I'd do if I could do it all again,
"And then:

"I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,"
"To live like you were dyin'."
Like tomorrow was a gift,
And you got eternity,
To think about what you’d do with it.
An' what did you do with it?
An' what can I do with it?
An' what would I do with it?
"Sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,"
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu."
"And then I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,"
"And I watched Blue Eagle as it was flyin'."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance."
"To live like you were dyin'."