The Serious List

Following up from last week, I decided to put together one of those Facebook lists of “have you ever” or “what do you prefer” only with a serious twist. Instead of, which do you prefer – seafood or beef, wine or beer, it will be questions to get us to think about what we want to get done in this life. Here goes:

Have you ever:

Ridden in an ambulance – as the patient?

Labored so heavily to breathe, you could barely speak?

Received cat-scans, x-rays, continuous blood draws, and more in one afternoon?

Gone through dialysis several times?

Had a bone marrow or a lumbar puncture sample taken?

Slept in a $47,000 bed that helps eliminate the chance of bed sores, but comes with

     an evil genie who messes with your set up every time so it’s hard to get

     comfortable?

Swelled up so bad, you feel like the blueberry girl in Charlie and the Chocolate

     Factory and are sure they will need to cart you off to the juicing room?

Swelled up even more, so that you felt like the Stay Puff monster from Ghost Busters

     (no wonder he was mad!)?

Wondered where the next puddle of blood was going to be when you next woke up?

Been barely able to move let alone stand up after complete bed rest?

Fallen asleep, knowing that the person in the next room is dying and another down

     the hall is screaming?

Did you start praying for them?

Did you ever go to sleep and truly wonder if you would still be on this side of life when

     you woke?

As a writer, I have to spit out my experiences, be they lovely, terrifying, or troublesome. I’ll stop writing about these depressing experiences now, but I just want to leave you with last week’s title: Is Tomorrow Soon Enough? Know that it may not be no matter how many tomorrows you have been given so far. Don’t set aside those things that you really don’t want left undone. We have a quilt to sew of our lives – let’s do our best to keep filling in the beautiful pieces that will one day complete our lives.