and I will also have a beer...

(Above quote from John Taylor with a line added by me)

Dear God,
Watch over my (Matt) Cut him some slack. He likes to do things his way. He is a great worker and will be your sharpest dressed angel. 
Thanks,
me(Julie)


My friend Julie's facebook status yesterday. She lost her husband Matt on Saturday, March 3rd 2012. He died in his sleep, a healthy 42 year old man, of a heart attack. Today is his funeral, and his wake. A celebration of all that Matt was to so many people. With a lot of great music and beer and food and dancing and laughing. The way a wake should be, in my humble opinion. Julie's kept her sense of humor which is rivaled, by perhaps, only Matt's. She has stayed strong for her 3 kids - all over the age of 18 but kids none the less who have lost their daddy. I wish i could be there to hug her, but something tells me she is the one doing the hugging right now. That's just how Julie is. 


So many of us shaken to our core by the loss of of one of our own. My friends from QVC and the Blarney and FB all intertwined and connected by the pain and the heartbreak of yet another death. Yet another loss, another gone too soon. The sheer shock of it, making even the strongest among them questioning their lives and beliefs. Hugging those they love a little tighter, fixing the relationships once broken, calling the ones they haven't talked to in a while. 


Living as if each day is their last, because you never know. You never know...


So perhaps today, in your life, you can think of Julie and her kids, and of Matt. Maybe today, you can resolve to appreciate what you have and embrace those you love. Maybe even contact those you have let slip away. Maybe for today, we can all learn something from loss. 


I know that I will. 


PS: And I will also have a beer or two (Slainte' Matteo) - put on some Led Zeppelin and dance around the house a bit. And I will laugh... most definitely.  

Try to imagine them all around

Not in some distant heaven

For they are nearer to you

Than your own heartbeat

~ © Alison Stormwolf ~