Wednesday, February 29, 2012

What Would You Do?

'Kailua Beach.' photo (c) 2005, skyseeker - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/If you knew you only had one week left to live, what would you do?  Would you write a letter to your children to let them know how much you love them?  Would you do something crazy or go somewhere you've never been?  What would you do?

At this time last year my sister only had one week left to live.  I've wondered what she would have done if she knew?  Since an answer to this question isn't possible, I've come up with an image of her in my mind.  I see my sister on the beaches of Hawaii in a straw hat laying on the beach with a pina colada in one hand and a book in the other.  Erica told her girls she would take them to Hawaii and she loved to read.  So, this image somehow comforts me. 

What would I do if I only had a week to live?  I would go to Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Flordia.  What would you do? 

Monday, February 27, 2012

Around the Table

'Cafe tables outside' photo (c) 2008, I See Modern Britain - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/The gathering place at my parent's house is the dining table.  It was around the table that I had my last conversation with my sister.  This last weekend I went home to visit and I couldn't help but remember that it had been a year since the last time I saw Erica.  When we gathered around the table this weekend the conversation topic was the complete opposite from last year.  There was no sarcastic humor or crude jokes, just the stark reality of the absence of my sister and the issues left behind.