Another Blue Day

Yesterday friends and family gathered to say goodbye to Julie. It was an emotional day. The weather was lovely. The service was beautiful and her husband gave the most moving tribute to her -- I was crying like a baby.

Looking around at Julie's grave site, I saw many familiar faces -- faces from high school and college. It is always sad that it takes a funeral to gather together all of the wonderful people in your life.

There are so many things I can take away from Julie's far-too-early death. One is vigilance about cancer screening. Two is to live your life every day as if it is your last -- that is not an easy one for me. I tend to linger and dawdle and waste time. For as long as I can remember, I've held up this poem as an admonition to myself. It's hard though...

So here hath been dawning
Another blue day:
Think, wilt thou let it
Slip useless away?

Out of Eternity
This new day is born:
In to Eternity
At night will return.

Behold it aforetime
No eye ever did:
So soon it forever
From all eyes is hid.

Here hath been dawning
Another blue day:
Think, wilt thou let it
Slip useless away?

-- Thomas Carlyle

On the Road ... Again

I'm heading to Houston tomorrow for Julie's funeral. I feel like a transient. I've been traveling almost nonstop since Annabelle was born in March. In the past two months, I think I've been in Atlanta for just two weekends.

The Maple Leafs are here on Thursday. I am going to miss Darcy Tucker, but I have more important things to do. (On a semi-related note: What is wrong with you Miikka Kiprusoff?! You are ruining my fantasy hockey season.)

We close on our house next Monday. I can't believe my dream of a house with a pool (this pool) is finally coming true. When I told Julie about the house, she said, "I can't wait to come swim with you." Thinking about it now makes my heart ache. She believed so strongly that she was going to beat cancer. Julie lived her life with hope and faith. That's a lesson I can take from something that just makes no sense: Never give up. I don't think Julie ever did. When I swim in our pool for the first time, I will be thinking of her.