Changes in the Wind

It has been a long time since I made an entry to my running commentary. Since my last entry much has happened. My grandson, Connor, is now living permanently with his mom. He had been living with his dad until a year ago in March in Memphis. His dad, who had recently
turned 40, went out for a jog. When Connor wondered why he was late getting back from his run, he went outside to look for him. He found him lying on the front lawn and unresponsive. He went to a neighbor's house to call 911. Bryan never revived and was pronounced dead 30 minutes after arriving at the emergency room.

I had not seen Bryan for nearly ten years. Just three days before he died, while my husband and I were visiting in Houston with our daughter, I drove back to Memphis with Monica to return Connor to his dad following Connor's stay with Monica for spring break. Bryan came to the passenger side of our car, leaned in to hug me, and tightly squeezed my hand. He said nothing and smiled when I told him how happy I was to see him.

My point is that we must never think we will have one more chance to see someone we care about before they are gone from us forever. Time is too quirky to believe that. We must make every effort to talk to those we care about, visit with them in person if possible, and never allow negative experiences or an apparent rebuff to cause us to turn away from contact. I don't know if Bryan had some sort of premonition or if he was simply glad to see me again after all the years since he and Monica had divorced. I will never know. But I do know that the moment of connection with Bryan was very special and I am so grateful to have had it before his untimely death.