While you still can

[starkvegasdawg]

First off...mods, if you want to move this or delete this then have it. I just wanted to post this here.

Second...this is not a post to elicit sympathy or anything else. It is a post to make sure everyone is thinking about what is really important in life.

Today is the 12 year anniversary of me losing my dad suddenly due to post operative complications. No advance warning. On the way home from the hospital and he went from fine to dead in about 20 minutes. No chance to say goodbye at all. That, along with the loss of Joseph Jr. and Sr. as well as that wreck near Starkville that took the life of a husband and father and critically injured his three children are all a stark reminder we are not guaranteed tomorrow and neither are your loved ones. In all three circumstances, nobody woke up that morning thinking their lives would change forever before they went to bed that night. I say that to say this:

Tell and show your family you love them every day. If you are ever in a circumstance that you lose someone dear to you suddenly don't live with the regret of thinking you should have done more to show how much they really mean to you. It is a fire that burns deep and never goes out.

If you are at odds with a family member - make every attempt to reconcile that relationship. It may not have been your fault and the hard feelings may well be deserved. But life is short. Too short to at least not try to make an attempt.

I wrote this just over a year ago as I was approaching this anniversary. I thought at the time I would never share it with anyone. Just something I wrote for myself. But in light of all this I have decided to share the below. Again, if this is board is not the place for it then move it or delete it. But after two losses to the community of Starkville and MSU coupled with my own personal story, I have decided to share it.

Oh what I would give just to have one more day
To call you on the phone and to hear what you have to say
To see you at my door when you came just to visit
To laugh at your jokes I surely do miss it
Since it's been so long since we had to say goodbye
I'd love to load you in my car and take a nice long drive
I could show around town; point out all the things that?s changed
This is here and that is there - everything has been rearranged
But most of all I would like to take the time to let you see
All the changes in my life and what all has happened to me
A lot has gone on in my life so just where do I want to start?
I now have a wife and two kids that have completely stolen my heart.
A little boy and a girl both with eyes of blue
And a mischievous smile and hearts of gold - just like you
Oh how I wish you were to them more than just a picture in a frame
More than just a passing glance and the occasional, "What was his name?"
They're still too young to understand the concepts of life and death
To realize how special is a loved one?s very final breath
And while they may never know you in this realm I have no doubt of this
That one day they will see your smile when we all cross that final abyss
But until that day I must live my life trying to channel all the emotion
While trying to make it through all the world's commotion
If you were here I know all too well what you'd say to me
Remember me, yes, but don't be sad, I'm where I'm supposed to be
And while I know that's true please allow me now to say
Oh what I would give just to have one more day.

[GreenheadDawg]

Well said. We all take life for granted and sometimes before we realize it, it's too late. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm very close with my Dad so I can't imagine losing him like that

[yakalot]

Great post!

[maroonwhitedawg3ddd]

Awesome !!!! Good Read!!

[confucius say]

Good stuff

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

nm

[gravedigger]

As i wipe a tear or two remembering losing mine 2,5 years ago.... Thanks for that

[Drugdog]

I lost my Dad on 2008 and my mom last year. Both were huge State fans. Miss them every day
Great post.

[Percho]

Thank you for posting that.

[blacklistedbully]

Lost me Dad post-op as well. Surgery went great, expected to leave hospital as soon as he had bowel movement, then he just went under, internal bleeding. By the time they caught it, he'd lost too much blood.

VA Hospital. Doctors loved him. One of them told my Mom privately that it should not have happened. I wasn't there, was on a flight home to see him when he died. Hospital quickly offered to cremate him at their expense, and my Mom accepted. To this day, that seems really fishy to me.

[Political Hack]

Great perspective. Made me regret not walking out into the rain this morning to hug my son goodbye.

[Dental Dawg33]

There is never a bad time or place to post or express something like that. Great post. So true and helps you look at life a little more clearly and appreciate the little things. My wife is having some biopsies done for some suspicious lesions this very week, so I needed to read that.

[notsofarawaydawg]

Awesome post

[Bothrops]

Perspective. Thanks for sharing.

[BulldogBear]

Bump

[State82]

Excellence in posting!

[PassInterference]

Great stuff.

I read that Bear Bryant would tell his players after practice "now go home and call your mamas because I sure wish I could call mine".

[I seen it dawg]

Great post. Hits home.

[CadaverDawg]

Dusty as heck in here. Touching post, brother. Thank you for sharing.

[starkvegasdawg]

I'm really glad all of you seemed to like this. It really means a lot.

[IMissJack]

I found out today that I knew the man that was killed on 82, when we were teenagers, 30 years ago. Very sad.

[archdog]

Lost mine 4 years ago November 10 very similarly. Talked to him on Saturday, heart attack on Thursday, died Sunday morning. We had a terrible relationship due to divorce and the what not. Patched things up when I when I was around 20. Had a solid 9 years talking to him every now and again, but I only had the opportunity to see him maybe 10 times for a total of about 40 hours the last 16 years he was alive. I regret the time we missed. My sister and mother are now the same way. Neither will pick up the phone to call each other. I tell each of them all the time to just put crap behind them and pick up the phone. Neither will.

When my dad passed away, at the time my sister hadn't spoken to him in almost 18 years. (she was only 33 when he passed) She didn't even know the man he was. At least I had spoken to him the last 9 years or so. Family is like friends. If something bad goes down, just keep hanging out and that stuff will fade away. Cut off communication and what was really a small thing becomes a huge issue over time. So, just pick up the phone and clear things up. After a month of two, the issue will be over because communication will fade it away. Just pick up the phone or get in the car and patch it up.

[BulldogBear]

bump

[DanDority]

Thank you for your wake up post! Much appreciated!

[MSUDawg99]

Good stuff...teary eyed. Lost my dad when I was in college at State. Wished I'd have had him to walk me down the aisle when I got married. But, like you said, we're never promised tomorrow. Don't waste time bickering with family & living with regret at the "should have been's"...