Life

Things happen in life that we can only take as a reminder to enjoy each day as our last.  Late last night I received a text from Tracy that a friend of ours from the past had drowned earlier this week.  She was 31 years old, and 5.5 months pregnant... just enjoying a vacation with her husband at Nags Head.  I was not close with Jill by any means, but we shared a quick friendship in 2005 when I first started working at CFA Institute, and I have a photo of my friends Amy, Kate and myself with her on my desk still today from our holiday party that year.  From what I knew of Jill, she was the kindest and brightest soul.  Her smile was huge, and she wore it all the time.  She was elegant... simple, but one of those women who was just completely put together.  She was the type that you envied deep down because she had everything: beauty, brains and modesty.  All that I can think is that God had bigger plans for her and her soon to be born daughter, that what they had to offer was too great to just be beings of this world.

I couldn't sleep last night.  First came the shock of it all, then the sadness for her family, then the realization that I have never lost someone very close to me unexpectedly.  If the tragic loss of someone who I knew briefly and years ago has impacted me so much, I cannot imagine how it would feel for this to happen to someone I hold dear.  So today, I mourn the loss of Jill, I pray for her family and those close to her, and I appreciate and hold close to me all of those that I love, because I cannot bare the thought of losing anyone... my family and friends are my world... everything else is just a distraction.  Put all of your material things aside, all of the stresses of jobs and money and worldly things, and tell all of those that make you who you are that you love them.

Thank you, Jill, for being part of my life, as brief as it was!