It’s my Monday after a long holiday today. Family have all returned to their homes — house is getting re-settled, life is moving on. It’s times like these that you realize how short of a time we really have. My sisters and I are adults –when did that happen? I remember my sister Dee and I fighting, sharing, laughing, protecting each other as we grew up — and now we are fully on our own living very different lives. Yet when we come together– no one gets me more than her. The same goes for all of my brothers and sisters, but Dee and I grew up together – insert long story –  so there seems to be a bond that goes just a bit deeper.

My next door neighbor died this weekend, unexpectedly, although he was not in the best of health. We just saw him on Thanksgiving, playing his guitar in his back yard, frying up his holiday turkey and the following day, washing his car. Now he’s gone. Just like that. Early morning emergency vehicles in front of his house, the glazed look of his family – gone. How does his family pick up their life after that? Or after realizing your marriage is over? Or any other crisis or drastic change in your life — how do you find the strength, the will, the desire to continue on, move on, or even start over?

Some turn the wrong way and linger in the abyss of depression, self destructive-ness, or self pity and don’t move at all. Plain and simple. They remain in a state of shock and do whatever they can to numb the feelings that need to be felt and dealt with. It’s a death — no matter what the situation is. A death of a loved one, a death of a marriage, a death of a dream, a death of an old way of life. It’s not always a bad thing.

I have said this before — sometimes, life leads you to what you are supposed to be doing even if it means you are led kicking and screaming.  The key is to be open to change — See where life takes you, enjoy the moments, and if you have to — live moment by moment, day to day . Eventually it gets easier and if it doesn’t, it’s time to regroup, evaluate and maybe even change course – even if that means taking lots of missteps. You learn from those too — but try not to wait too long, because it’s true — life is short.