Friday, September 07, 2007

Workaholics…Take Time Out to Smell the Roses

Last weekend my husband and I made a last minute decision to fly down to the Bahamas to celebrate his mom’s 80th birthday with her and other members of the family.

It was a crazy, insane thing to do because we were in and out in three days, but I’m glad we did it. I never do anything crazy or insane. Everything I do is planned and structured. If I ever do anything impulsive, you should call The New York Times.

But I agreed to do this because, when your mom is 80, or even 71 like mine, you have got to take advantage of every moment. I come from a long line of workaholics and “I’m too busy” is too often heard in our family.

During the week, one of the people I saw in the Bahamas — a man who goes by the nickname Kitty — passed away from a long illness. He didn’t look ill when we were there. He looked full of life. Just three days after we left, he was gone. He was in his mid-forties.

Today, I ran into my neighbor Liz who told me her boyfriend Mino, who is just 36 years old, is dying of a brain tumor. He had always wanted children and he will never be able to fulfill that dream.

All in all, three men my husband knew, all in the forties, died in the space of two weeks. It made me realize that life is short and I need to get out and enjoy it. I don’t spend enough time with my friends and family and I need to do more of that.

If you’re a workaholic like me, please don’t forget to take time to stop and smell the roses. And to spend time with your friends and family. Our time on this earth is borrowed. You just never know when your name is going to appear on the pages of the book of life. Enjoy it now while you can.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

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