Time

My uncle passed away a couple of days ago, and although I was not very close to him, his unexpected death has hit home. We always think there will be time to do this, time to see that or time to mend fences. My uncle had two children who, for whatever reasons, no longer spoke to him. I would see my uncle during holidays and occasionally we would bump into each other. He would always speak fondly of his boys and that he missed them. He would always say that he should reach out and contact them, but he never really did. Tonight at the funeral home his boys showed up. I cannot express the sadness in watching them stand in front of their father, knowing that they have not seen him or even spoken to him in many years.

I don’t know what caused the riff, and honestly, I don’t care. What I do know is that there is never enough time. There are so many things that we put off thinking that we will eventually get to it, but never do. I am not talking about the dripping faucet or the hole in the soffitt. I am talking about the things in life that matter, spending time with loved ones, reaching out and healing emotional wounds, helping those less fortunate or establishing a relationship with God.

My cousins are two very nice and thoughtful people. I only hope that they don’t come to regret all of the missed time with their Dad - the missed Christmas mornings, the backyard BBQs and even just the simple conversations about sports or the weather. Something tells me that eventually that day will come. Time marches on, relentlessly.