I heard news today that tore at my heart. The father of my grandchildrens’ friends was killed yesterday in a traffic accident. I had never met him nor had I met his family. But the fact that it will affect my family affected me.
I’m not going to go into detail about exactly what happened to him other than to make a few points, and these don’t necessarily have anything to do with the details, just things that come into my mind:
- You never know when you will lose a loved one or good friend. Tell them today that you love them. Don’t wait! Treat them each day like it will be the last time you see them.
- Please, please be careful when you’re driving. Put your phone away and concentrate on what you’re doing. Pay attention. When you are driving, drive. Don’t drive distracted. Don’t Snapchat in your car. Don’t record your carpool karaoke for YouTube. Don’t have crazy conversations with your friends. Just. Drive.
- Recognize that your vehicle is a weapon. It is very capable of killing someone and I can’t imagine the horror of living with that for the rest of your life.
- Pray for everyone. Pray for his family that is now tasked with learning to live without his physical presence. Pray for the young woman who was behind the wheel of the car that killed him that she can somehow learn to deal with that knowledge. Pray for the police officers who came upon the horrific scene and now have to investigate exactly what happened. Pray for all of the people who knew him and didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. And say a little prayer for yourself that you can do the things I’ve mentioned above to prevent another senseless tragedy.
Take care of yourself and all of your loved ones, whether related by blood or by love. And please tell people how much they mean to you TODAY.