Make every moment matter

Life is short. No matter how long we live, it never seems to be quite long enough.

There’s always more to do, places to see and goals to accomplish, regardless of what stage of life we are in or what our age is.

Several things in the past couple of weeks have reminded me about mortality, including visits to hospitals and several deaths, among them.

Throughout the weeks, while dealing with one thing or another, there was one constant that served as a beacon of hope: concern from family and friends.

Through visits, phone calls and texts, we kept each other informed and comforted. Interaction with others, no matter how close they were to the situation at hand, was essential to dealing with these hard times. This was especially true for a Boulder City resident I am proud to have called my friend, Ed Waymire, who died Friday.

We weren’t especially close, but seeing him always brought a smile to both of our faces and the promise of a welcoming hug.

I never failed to stop and visit with him whenever we attended the same event. And I had the privilege of sharing the love story between Ed and his late wife, Billie, several years ago. They were so devoted to each other and knew how to take advantage of every moment together.

Billie died in July 2016. After that, Ed was lost.

Though he was always surrounded by friends and ever-present at meetings and events in town, life for him was never the same.

Every time we met, he told me how much he missed the love of his life and partner of 53 years.

I last saw him just days before he died. There was no indication that his time was nearly up, but there was a definite sadness in him. I regret that I didn’t make the time to visit more often or take him to lunch. There never seemed to be enough or the right time to do either.

It’s easy to get caught up in the minutia of day-to-day life. There will always be more chores to do, obligations to attend to and interruptions or crises that seem to take precedence over everything.

Yet, the reality is a lot of these things can wait. Not permanently, but at least for a couple of minutes. Long enough for us to reach out to our loved ones and friends to say hello and let them know we are thinking of them. Long enough for us to take in the beauty of a desert sunrise or sunset. Long enough for us to take steps that will ensure our good health for the future.

The question now is can the things that rattle us today, making us change our actions to appreciate the good, last for more than a just a day or two.

Life may be short, but let’s take the time to make those moments matter.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.