This might get a little serious so hold on tight. I'm writing this as I'm thinking about my pal and confidant that lost his battle with cancer a few years ago. Tomorrow is his birthday so I've really got him on my mind. Traveled down the road and back again, yes we did. I met this young man when he was 24 with a head full of curly hair. As things happened, we lost touch but thank you Jesus the road made a turn back to us about 5 years ago. As happy as I was to find him, it just didn't last long enough. He had just been diagnosed with cancer and had lost his head of curly hair. But let me just say he was as handsome bald as he was with all that curly hair years ago. Why you may ask. Well ya'll know me well enough now that I'm going to tell you why.
You see his heart was true. He was a big man and I swear his heart was big as him. He loved people and people loved him. He would light up a room just by walking in it with a smile that made you want to just squeeze his cheeks like your grandma did when you're little. A smile that went from ear to ear, showed every tooth he had and in a few short minutes had everyone in the room wanting to hug him. Yep and when he hugged you, you knew you had been hugged.
"My old friend, I recall the times we had. I wouldn't trade them for gold 'cause they laugh and they cry and somehow sanctify me. They're woven in the stories I have told, and tell again." - Tim McGraw
The stories I could tell if I had all the time in the world wouldn't fit on this page. This man made me laugh so hard tears rolled down my cheek and in the next minute I would be crying because I would realize his time was limited. His time may have been limited here on earth to a short 42 years but I can promise you he made the best out of every one of them. He didn't know when his time would be up so he lived every day, every minute of every hour to the fullest. He told stories that had nothing to do with anything, but he could have you believing whatever he made up, just because he could. The more I laughed, the more he added to the story.
"And if you threw a party, invited everyone you knew. You would see the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say. Thank you for being a friend." A party he could throw, especially on his boat on the lake with that stinking Tennessee flag flying like he lived there instead of Georgia. And yes of course he invited everyone he knew and most of the time they all came. They all came because they knew a party it would be, a party they wouldn't forget with plenty of food, laughter and stories. I'm fooling myself if I think the biggest gift would be from me because everyone at the party would have a card probably the biggest one they could find and it would simply say..."Thank you for being a friend."
"My old friend, this song's for you 'cause a few simple verses was the least that I could do to tell the world that you were here. "cause the love and the laughter will live on long after all of the sadness and the tears. We'll meet again my old friend"
"You'll hear me call, I'll say your name. Then once again...Thank you for being a friend.
It's not a song and it's by no means written by a professional writer but this post is my way of letting the world know I miss my friend more than words can say. This is a feeble attempt to honor my friends memory with a story that will bring a smile to your face like he would want it.
My lesson today? I think my friend would want me to say...Life is too damn short. It's like a bull, so grab it by the horns and ride it like it's your last day alive. Tell your friends and family you love them...every single day. Don't drift through life telling yourself "maybe tomorrow." Make TODAY that day and every day after that. Spend your life actually living it instead of watching it blow away like candles on each birthday cake. And while you're at it, have an extra slice or two.
Thank you for being my friend,
Sweet Southern Sass
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