Go Forth and Be Breathless

My father’s name was Richard.  He was a good man who loved his family and his country.  And cars.  He LOVED cars.  He always had something he was working on in the garage. 

Today he would have been 63 years old.  Happy Birthday, Daddy.

When he was 39 he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was told he had a year to live.  Radiation, surgery, chemo, and 9 years later the Good Lord took him home.  He fought long enough to see both of his children graduate from high school, to see his daughter graduate from college, to walk his daughter down the aisle, and to know his first grandchild was on the way.  Still, 48 is way too young for a father to leave his family.  

He was a quiet fighter, and he was the strongest man I have ever known.  Until I breathe my last, he will always be my hero.  While I still mourn his loss, today I celebrate my father’s life.   

So why do I post this in a blog about cutting the crap?  Because life is short, People.  Cut out all the bitterness you have.  Cut the crap you tell yourself for why you don’t spend more time with your loved ones.  Pick up the phone.  Make a trip.  Cut the excuses.  Make every moment count.  

 “Life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but by what takes your breath away.”  With that, I urge you to go forth and be breathless.