The Final Edit

     This morning I edited another paper for my daughter. Mostly I just look for misspelled words and too many commas. She is a very good writer. I love that she trusts me enough to do this for her. After all, she's going to be a doctor and I'm just the mom. (Don't start telling me that being mom is so much more. I know that and I'm not saying that to put myself down.) The point is, she trusts me with what I consider to be very important work. But that's not the purpose of this post.
     I want to focus on the end. We never know when it will come. I know this is her last paper for grad school because that's a big deal and deserves to be celebrated. Oh, and she put it on Facebook. On a different note, however, I look back to my dad's final week. We didn't know on that Sunday night as they rushed us out of the room to put him on life support we were having our final conversation with him. I didn't know that last visit with a friend would be the last. That she wouldn't be in my home again. I can't remember the last time I carried my child on my hip before she was suddenly to big for me to lift. 
     The end comes quickly. Often unexpected. Perhaps just as often expected. I remember my last chemo treatment. I still have my tiara. I remember my last radiation treatment, ringing the bell, and the applause from the people waiting for their own treatment. Graduation days are to celebrate the end of years of hard work. Retirement dinners welcome the end of a productive career and the anticipation of many future days of fun and relaxation.
     Frankly, I don't want the end to sneak up on me. I want to live today as if it were the last. I want to be conscious of holding hands, loving with all my heart, listening intently when spoken to, offering a smile and a word of encouragement, doing better today than I did yesterday. 
     This really isn't supposed to be a morbid blog post about approaching the end of life. I hope to convey that we never know what we will miss tomorrow. Those special times that, because of the direction of life, now cease to be. I want to encourage you to look at the most mundane thing in your life, whether it is driving the kids to school, cooking dinner, folding underwear, mopping floors, studying, or having to totally stop what you are doing to go help someone else, with pleasure and gratitude. This might be the last time you can do it. Before you know it your child will be driving herself. Enjoy while you can. (I didn't write the date on the calendar so I couldn't tell you when I no longer took the long way to work every morning. But that was an ending to celebrate!)
     No one has said this out loud around my house, but we've really had our last student summer. This year she will be moving to another city and won't spend so many weeks with us. If any at all. The move will be quick from school to internship and getting settled will demand her time there. It happened and we didn't realize it. 
     Life is an adventure. The bend in the road may bring you to a new and unexpectedly beautiful view. Like for us this summer. I have loved every stage and transition in my beautiful daughter's life and I don't regret the changes that take her away from us. It brings me great joy to see her living out who God created her to be and pursuing the dreams He placed in her heart. That said, at least she will be closer and I can go visit more often - for at least a year! You may round the bend in your road to find the view blocked, requiring you to move ahead purely on blind faith. Whatever your adventure is today, throw yourself into it as if you will never have the chance again. I saw this anonymous quote:

                                                                                      No matter
                                                                                what happens,
                                                                                where you go,
                                                                              or what you do,
                                                                          always remember:
                                                                        No one can take the
                                                                 fire out of your soul, the
                                                            stars from your eyes, or the
                                                      passion that's within your heart.
                                                            Those things belong to you.
                                                                                           Always.


     So, if you've hand some endings.  If you've looked back to realize that a special time has come and gone and life has moved you to another place and time.  If you can't remember when the last time was or if you can remember exactly what you were wearing and where you were, don't miss the adventure.  Feed the fire in your soul.  Let the stars in your eyes sparkle and shine.  Live out your passion each day.  Like no one is watching.  Because you really don't want to miss a thing.