>-
>        A Story To Live By
>>>      by Ann Wells (Los Angeles Times) 
>>>
>>> My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau 
>>> and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package.  "This," he said, "is not 
>>> a slip. This is lingerie."  He discarded the tissue and handed
>>> me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with 
>>> a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on 
>>> it was still attached.  "Jan bought this the first time we went 
>>> to New York, at  least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She 
>>> was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the 
>>> occasion."  He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with 
>>> the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands
>>> lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the 
>>> drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a
>>> special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion." 
>>>
>>> I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that 
>>> followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad 
>>> chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on
>>> the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where 
>>> my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that
>>> she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things 
>>> that she had done without realizing that they were special. 
>>>
>>> I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. 
>>> I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and 
>>> admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. 
>>> I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time
>>> in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern 
>>> of experience to savor, not  endure. I'm trying to recognize
>>> these moments now and cherish them. 
>>>
>>> I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for 
>>> every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink
>>> unstopped, the  first camellia blossom. 
>>>
>>> I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory 
>>> is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag 
>>> of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for 
>>> special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks 
>>> have noses that function as well as my party-going friends'.
>>>
>>> "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my 
>>> vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to
>>> see and hear and do  it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have 
>>> done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we
>>> all take for granted. I think she would have called family members 
>>> and a few close friends. She might have called a few former
>>> friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles.
>>> I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, 
>>> her favorite food. I'm guessing-I'll never know.
>>>
>>>It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if 
>>>I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing 
>>>good Friends whom I was going to get in touch with-someday. 
>>>Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to 
>>>write-one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my 
>>>husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them. 
>>>I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything 
>>>that would add laughter and luster to our lives.
>>>
>>> And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is 
>>> special.
>>>
>>> Every day, every minute, every breath truly is...a gift.