My Sister's Thanksgiving Message

November 2014, one of my fav pics of Sheryl and I

A pic of my big bro Adam (So he doesn't get jealous)

Many of you know my older sis Sheryl. She, along with my older bro Adam, have been the rocks in my world. I lean on them for inspiration, laughter, support, and advice. My sister had a difficult Fall emotionally with the loss of a close coworker. You will read the reason why below. Coupled with the recent terrorist attach in Paris, France, she felt compelled to write an early Thanksgiving message below addressing the uncertainty of life and how we need to not take life for granted. 

Sher's message comes from the heart. I hope you take it to heart as well and apply it to your life. In the blink of an eye, it can change forever.  -Marc

From Sheryl:

Hello Family & Friends,

So forgive this ramble but I’ve been mulling it over in my mind. Maybe with age I’ve become more sappy / nostalgic or the recent France bombings moved me, but I had a very sad experience at work last month that has compelled me to share this message. My immediate boss died last month at work. He was literally walking through the front door, passed out from a heart attack and in a couple hours he was pronounced dead at the hospital. My job that day ended up being picking up his Partner and driving him to the hospital to identify his husband and spend his last few hours with his husband. 

Needless to say I was in shock all day. Yes, my boss was gay and had just gotten married to his Partner about 6 months ago after being together for 30 years. It was heart wrenching to think they had JUST started the next chapter in their already long life together, only for my boss to drop dead 6 months later. If these last two sentences don’t convey the message then pacify me and read further. 

In any given moment, everything in your world or your loved one’s worlds can END in less than seconds. All the various problems we each slug through on a daily bases don’t mean jack, because it can END in seconds. All the time we spend on arguments, blaming each other, picking at each other, mocking one another is wasting an exorbitant amount of time that could be spent cherishing our time together. Was that argument or hurtful statement really worth the energy and time??? Do we really ever feel better after??? 

All the time spent NOT addressing issues or resolving problems wastes that much more time of being together; not valuing the time you have together because it can ALL END in seconds. And if we really don’t want to be where we are then truly move on so that everyone else can value and cherish the time they have together. But if we choose to be where we are, then make EVERY moment COUNT. 

Tell your loved ones how much you care about them. Don’t hesitate to hug and love them because it can ALL END IN SECONDS. Why am I repeating this statement? Because as smart as human beings are, it still takes 7 times of a repetitive statement for humans to REALLY absorb, remember and learn what we hear. Some of you won’t even absorb this now, but I truly hope something sinks in about make every moment together count. I appreciate all of you pacifying me by reading this and EVEN MORE for touching my life in some way. Make every moment of this Thanksgiving count. 

HUGS & LOVE! Sheryl