What Are YOU Waiting For?

I never bought into the mantra,
“When it’s your time, it’s your time.”

Today, I am a hard core convert.
Call me a true believer.

On Thursday August 14, what would have been my
Dad’s 90th birthday, Charles Nystrom – the Weapon System
Officer who flew the F-111E during the Persian Gulf War
and made it home safely -was hit by a pickup truck and
killed while riding his bicycle.

If you live in Tuscon, Arizona, this tragic accident was in
the news because Charlie was a beloved school teacher, his
second career after 31 years as a decorated Lt. Colonel in
the Air Force.

I know Charlie Nystrom and his brother Tommy for 40 years.
I was Charlie’s usher when he married Teresa 30 years ago.
I’ve known his girls Bonnie and Zoe since they were born.

Tommy is one of my dearest friends.

Charlie’s sudden loss has stunned our close circle of friends.

He was a wonderful and caring man, a loving husband and
Father. He was a great teacher who rode his bike an hour
each way to school to be environmentally conscious.

It’s the ultimate reminder of how precious and irreplaceable
the people in your life are, another two by four upside the
head about how life is here one moment and gone the next.

That same day, my 42-year old niece Liz had emergency
double bypass surgery that saved her life. The doctor said
she would not have survived another month.

Any doubt I had about “when it’s your time, it’s your time”
vanished on Thursday August 14 when the yin and yang
of life and death played out on my Dad’s 90th birthday.

What popped into my head when I woke up today is:

“What are you waiting for?”

What are you waiting for to satisfy your SOUL?
What are you waiting for to do your passion’s ROLE?
What are you waiting for to move towards your GOAL?

Richard Bach wrote in “Illusions”:

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world,
the Master calls a butterfly.”

We don’t know what’s around the next turn.
The blessing of life is the richness of the experience.

The blessing of death is to remind us to enjoy the blessing of life.

Last week you could not convince me that,
“When it’s your time, it’s your time.”

Today, I’m a true believer.

I will squeeze every ounce of joy I can from today.
I encourage you to do the same.

So, what are you waiting for?

Thank you and bless you for allowing me to share this.

Mitch