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Yesterday was a day of trauma for people I care about.  Two of our friends were involved in serious accidents. One died. The other walked away unscathed but with a totaled vehicle.

Our friend Bill, an active retiree who often rode miles and miles on his bike, was killed one block from the gates of his neighborhood as he was returning home from a bike ride.  He chose a bike ride on a pretty spring day over a trip to the gym.  His wife, who battled but beat a nasty bout with cancer a few years ago, is now left stunned and sad – her life forever altered.

Our friend Steve was headed downtown for a lunch meeting.  He was in the car, ready to go when he decided he was thirsty and wanted a Diet Coke so he went back in the house for a soda.  A few minutes later as he passed through a downtown intersection, a truck ran a red light and broadsided his SUV. Steve walked away, bruised and shaken, but okay. His SUV didn’t fare so well.   If he had foregone the Diet Coke, someone else would have likely been involved in the accident instead of him.   

Two accidents. Two very different outcomes. Both reminders of the precariousness of life and the difference a couple of minutes can make in our lives.

I often think of the morning Ryan left for the airport – the last time I saw him alive. As usual, we were running late and I was hurrying him along, trying to get him to the airport in time to catch his plane. He was flying to St. Louis for orientation and then on to Austin, Tx from there.  As I scurried around, helping him get off, I remember giving him all the cash I had in my wallet in a last minute fit of panic that he might not have enough money for the trip.  I walked him to the car where his Dad was waiting to drive him to the airport. I hugged him; told him I loved him and to be careful and reminded him to call me when he landed.  I never dreamed it would be the last time I would see him alive.

All three of those stories are grim reminders that life is fleeting and tenuous. We never know when a conversation we have with someone will be the last one.   Speak loving words as you part because you never know when they might be the last words you’re able to speak.