If I Die Tomorrow

The older I get the more I think about death. I don’t fantasize about what it might be like nor do I fret. It is just that 70 is old.  It wasn’t until I turned 50 that it occurred to me that I’d probably passed the midpoint of my life, unless I happen to be like my friend Rita’s mother who said goodbye to her earthly life at 103.

I have heard the question “If you knew that you were going to do tomorrow, what would you do today?” Martin Luther King said that he would go plant a tree. I don’t know if he ever got around to doing that but I know he planted a lot of seeds that germinated, grew and continue to bear fruit. You might say that my own commitment to peace is a fruit of his work.

I have less than half this day yet to go. So far today, I accomplished two things I’d set out to do: I did some writing and I switched out my summer clothes. Not on my list were a Skype call from my granddaughter and an old-fashioned phone call from an old friend. These are two things that I’d not planned for sure outshined the two I did.

Considering the possible event of tomorrow’s death, I may have to reconsider the other two tasks on my list. One is to go with Bernie to pick up my car that just had new tires put on it. The other is to go out to dinner with Bernie to celebrate our 49^th wedding anniversary. I think I will stick to the list. If I die tomorrow, who will go with Bernie to fetch the car? And if we don’t go out to dinner, Bernie for sure will have to face the dishes in the sink in the morning alone. He’d be grumpy about that.

Many people who have been asked this question say they would tell their family members they love them. If my memory is correct, I think I have said that to every family member I have talked to in the last month. To any whom I have missed or to any of my dear friends, let me tell you now: I love you.