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How Do You Live Your Dash?
I read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral of a friend. He
referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning to the end. He noted that first came her date of birth and spoke
the following date with tears, But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth...
and now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth. For it matters not, how much we own; the cars..the house..the
cash, What matters is how we live and love and how we spent our dash.
So think about this long and hard..are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left, that can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down enough to consider what's
true and real, and always try to understand the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more and love the people
in our lives like we've never done before. If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile... remembering
that this special dash might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy's being read with your life's actions to rehash..
Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?
Let me tell you how Katrina lived her dashed. With a big smile on her
face. I'm not saying that she wasn't sad, too, but she was the type of person who always tried to cheer you up when you were
down and out. After she passed away, I received letters from her school mates. In almost every opening line in the letters
the children talked about Katrina's big smile. They said she was always smiling. How can someone always smile when they can't
breathe? I don't understand it, yet Katrina would be a big sister to her younger siblings. She would play with them when she
could, but doing physical things took her breath away. Katrina loved the Little Mermaid. When it first came out at the theaters
we went to see it twice! Anything Little Mermaid she had to have. Katrina never complained to me when she had to go to the
hospital for tune ups. That's what cystic fibrosis people call it when they have to go to the hospital to get their lungs
cleared out and have antibiotic treatments. The first time she was hospitalized was when she was in the first grade. Then
it was once a year, but it eventually became every few months. Katrina had to take digestive enzymes every time she ate to
help with food digestion. One thing that would really make Katrina mad would be when people told her how skinny she was. Katrina
weighed 46 lbs when she was twelve years old. She tried to eat, but just couldn't put the weight on. Cystic fibrosis is a
real cruel disease. As with any chronic illness, it's really hard on the entire family. I'm proud that Katrina was my daughter
and she is my hero. When I'm sad I think of her life. I miss her terribly...my heart has a hole in it where she belongs. But
if she can hear me from heaven...WE LOVE YOU, KATRINA
To My Sister Katrina by Adam Joseph Canter
You've been dead one year times seven,
I know we'll be reunited when I get to Heaven.
And until that
joyous day should arrive,
Remembering your love shall I survive.
I've loved you from before the morning dew meets the
trees.
My love for you is stronger than the strongest breeze.
My love for you is more peaceful than the river.
It
is more bountiful than the most generous giver.
Yes it's true I loved everything about you.
It's a wonder I survived
this long without you.
I remember your pretty red hair and your big bright smile,
Now all I can do is sit and dream
about you for awhile.
Why did you leave me? You were so young,
Remember when we were little we had so much fun.
You
showed me things I really wanted to know.
Without you I wouldn't know how to mature and grow.
If only I could be with
you one more day,
I would hug you and kiss you and never let you go away.
I know God has his reasons for taking you
from me.
I'm just trying to figure what these reasons could be.
It had to be a sin that I committed.
If I ever find
out what it was I'll never forget it.
I've missed you from this day until forever.
Forget anything about you will I
never.
You were my best of friends.
But like all good things they must all come to an end.
We don't know what's going
to happen tomorrow.
But I can guarantee you all my days shall be filled with sorrow.
Now until that day we meet in the
sky.
I shall love you forever. Now I say goodbye.
To My Sister by Meghan Marie Spaar Canter
I do not remember much of your stay,
But I remember lots of your going away.
The day that you died,
I was near,
I couldn't help but shed a tear.
I tried to be brave and stand tall,
It was just too hard that I had
to take that fall.
My memories of you are hidden in my heart,
Until the day that we will never part.
My love for
you will never cease,
For it is stronger than the winter's breeze.
Your smile was like you lit up the room.
There
is nothing more than I want to consume.
This isn't really a goodbye,
Because I will meet you soon in the sky.
| Here's Katrina's younger brother and sister |
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| Adam and Meghan |
| If Katrina was alive today, I believe she'd want |
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| more people to know about cystic fibrosis. |
http://www.cff.org
The above link will take you to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. You can learn about the disease at that site.
http://www.esiason.org/index.html
The above link takes you to Boomer's site. He was a football player whose son was born with cystic fibrosis.
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