When one gets really sad news

I got a message last week that my Dad's last wife (he's been gone since 1990-ish) passed away.  This morning I decided to look up the obituary and send my condolences to her sons.  What I found was truly shocking to me.  I only found an article about an 86 year old grandmother by the same name that was murdered by her grandson about a month ago.  I am fairly certain that it is the same person.  How awful!  I feel terrible that I didn't know about it in a timely fashion.  My Uncle just got a message recently from one of the sons.  I'm waiting to hear if that in fact was the same woman I knew so many years ago so that I can hopefully respond appropriately.

I have not been in touch with her regularly as her mail was usually returned to me.  Then I would run across something later and we would have a brief conversation...then no more for some time.  I remember her as a fun-loving caring person.  I am really surprised that she remained single for all these years.  She was much better off financially as I recall than even my Dad...and she loved to put on airs and take me shopping when I was young.  It was quite a shock in my younger days to see how differently the store people treated her - as compared to me.  While I was equally as able to spend money as she was - because I was 30 years her junior...she got all the attention!  It was entertaining for me and I never took anything personally.  By the time I began to visit them, I was over my materialism to a great degree - so mostly found the whole scene entertaining.

As I reflect on those early life lessons, this is what I gained from them.  I would rather by fashionable, trendy things from a cheap store so that I feel no guilt if I get tired of it and give it away later.  I once bought a purse that I spent a lot of money on...and I couldn't ever part with it because it was an investment.  Never again! It went away when I moved finally although I had not used it for years.  I would rather travel and spend money on experiences than gather more things that I have to care for and dust.  Those trinkets are just not important anymore and I can seldom remember why or where I bought them.  I love to take pictures...although I really don't do anything with them either.  Thankfully it's all digital and I can just enjoy the hobby of it without thinking about what I must do with it (or where to store it as in the case of print film and pictures).  Just remember to always make backups as they are your most favorite memories in the making and someday that will be important to you and your family.  Someday I will get all those prints into digital format I hope.

My life is an open book on which I can now create.  You can never sit by complacently and wait as bad things happen to good people on this planet.  Live your bucket list NOW!  Don't wait til tomorrow if you can do it today.  While I realize that most of us must work for a living, be diligent in planning your bucket list trip for next year.  Where do you want to go in 2017?  My first trip is to Panama as I have always wanted to see and experience the Panama Canal.  So I have researched and made plans to tour the country.  I can hardly wait.  Yesterday I researched how to travel lightly as the small planes have serious weight limits and a lot of our travel is rural.  So exciting!  I plan to do some travel writing in the future...so watch for those details coming soon!  In the meantime, I ordered travel gear to make traveling light a reality.

Have the best week of 2016 this week as we start to approach Thanksgiving.  Be grateful for all that life has given you!  Tell someone thank you today!