silverdaisy
Junior Member
Posts: 68 
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Post by silverdaisy on Jun 14, 2019 0:54:13 GMT
Has the saying life is too short inspired you to change something in your life? Or has someone’s death made an impact on you to do something?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:12:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2019 2:01:04 GMT
Not really. How about you?
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Post by mikklynn on Jun 14, 2019 2:05:46 GMT
Yes. DH's cancer diagnosis made me start saying no to things I don't want to do. Obviously, sometimes that is not possible.
For example, I don't attend parties where the host wants to sell me something. I don't get together with a couple women who are always negative. Life is too short for that.
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Post by dewryce on Jun 14, 2019 2:07:41 GMT
No, not from losing someone. But I have from having bipolar disorder and some other health issues including chronic pain that have left me in pretty bad places both physically and mentally. I have so much more appreciation for, and understand the importance of people in my life. It changed the importance of work in my life. It made me appreciate even the decent days so much more. And heath. Geeez did it make me appreciate how important health is. Its made me more open minded about why someone may be acting the way they are and realize they could be fighting a war we have no clue about. It helped me judge people’s actions in taking care of themselves or not less,
I could go on but dinner is ready.
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ashley
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,571
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Post by ashley on Jun 14, 2019 2:10:45 GMT
Yes! My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma when I was 19... her doctor told her she had six months to live. She was only 45. Now she’s in remission, but it was a shit couple years, and since then I’ve kinda kept in mind that some day I will only have six months left... So I colour my hair how I please, or not. I tell people when I admire something, it whether it is their talents or their shirt. It’s never too late to make changes! Go back to school, get a new career. Have fun and love lots  I don’t live my life recklessly or as if I don’t have a future... but when I only have six months left I dont want to say I should have loved less or eaten fewer cakes or kept doing something that made me miserable. |
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Post by tracyarts on Jun 14, 2019 2:12:41 GMT
Very much so. I lost several friends and family members much too young because they were apathetic about health issues.
I'm pretty diligent about managing my health issues and keeping up with diagnostic and preventative care. I may die from it one day, but I'm doing my best to delay the inevitable.
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Post by Delta Dawn on Jun 14, 2019 2:18:17 GMT
I live each day as if it were my last now. If I want the clothes I get them. I don’t save anything for a rainy day. I have no time for that.
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Post by scraphollie27 on Jun 14, 2019 2:49:23 GMT
My DH and I are in mid-life where you are watching your children find their wings and you are starting to contemplate retirement. We have seen too many of our friends and acquaintances lose their lives too early through sudden illness or accident to not take it to heart. We have been smart with planning for our future but I will never turn down an opportunity to make lasting memories.
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,891
Location: Kansas City -ish
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Post by Anita on Jun 14, 2019 3:00:06 GMT
Yes, very recently.
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Jun 14, 2019 3:11:27 GMT
Has the saying life is too short inspired you to change something in your life? Or has someone’s death made an impact on you to do something? Yes. Not a death, but my health declined, and having a taste of what "old age" might be like woke me up a bit. I realized my days with a young body were numbered, life was short, and to stop saying "maybe one day" so much. Well "one day" is today. Do it. For example we went on a cruise and I was the only woman on the surf rider. It looked fun, but maybe next time my body would limit me. So I just did it. I was the only woman. People applauded because I gave it my all and ate major crap before finally nailing it. Stuff like that. Now when we go places and do things, or make plans, I try to do the most exciting and ambitious activities because walking tours will always be there, but hiking caverns may not be. |
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jun 14, 2019 3:24:55 GMT
Our dog trainer passed away a few years ago. In her memory I’ve been a member of her training club since and give back as much as I can.
As I’ve started aging I’ve become more active for the same reason another pea mentioned. At 56, I go on bike rides with friends, I do crossfit and I want to learn to kayak with my dog. Just this year I entered my first organized bike ride, with 12,000 other riders 😳 and I did a 6 week dog mushing stage race.
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Post by papersilly on Jun 14, 2019 3:35:48 GMT
When my mom got sick and died it put a lot of things in perspective. It didn't make me start writing a bucket list or go bungy jumping. It may made me not take things for granted. It made me appreciate the simple or little things in life. I cultivated better and deeper friendships and let go of ones that weren't meaningful anymore. Yes, life is short but life is long too. I want a happier, more satisfying life if it all doesn't end tomorrow.
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Post by 950nancy on Jun 14, 2019 3:46:24 GMT
My grandma passed away at 63 and my mom was 58. Ever since I turned 35 (when my dad died), I have been very aware of my age. I retired early and have been "doing life" for four years post retirement.
I think I am kinder and more supportive than I used to be. I try not to take the little things personally and just try to be a good human. Some days I am better than others. When my boys were in junior high, they threatened to tell everyone at my funeral what I was really like. I know they were kidding (and probably serious too), but when my son said in a gym full of 5,000 people at graduation that I was the best person he had ever known, well, that was life altering and it made me want to be that person all of the time.
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Post by peano on Jun 14, 2019 4:07:06 GMT
The Sandy Hook school murders was mine. At the time, I was following a rigid food plan which included no sugar/sweeteners of any kind, no artificial sweeteners, no flour, no cheese, no refined carbs, no alcohol, very limited added fat, and everything I ate was weighed and measured. I had done this for five years, but I decided that life was too short, that I wanted to experience all the flavors, even if it meant I had to learn to manage sugar cravings.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jun 14, 2019 4:30:52 GMT
Yes. As a result, I never ever smoked and never did drugs of any kind. I’ve also been very aware of my age going through life.
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Post by hopemax on Jun 14, 2019 4:52:01 GMT
Yeah.
I love to travel, but we kept putting off International travel because we were always visiting family. In 2015, we lost my Mom to cancer when she was 61. She and my Dad had travel plans they never got to do. In the year she was sick, I went back and forth between CO and FL a lot, with short notice airfare, and I saw that our budget actually had room to do more. So since then DH and I have been to London twice, Hong Kong, and last December we took my Dad on the biggest "trip they never got to take together," and we went to Tokyo Disneyland for a week (my Mom worked for Disney, and we are all big Disney fans). We had such a good time, that the three of us are planning a return trip next fall. They have big expansion opening in 2020.
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scrappinspidey2
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,511
Location: In the Parlor with the Fly
Mar 18, 2015 19:19:37 GMT
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Post by scrappinspidey2 on Jun 14, 2019 5:00:48 GMT
Yes. I bought my dream car and enjoy every minute of it. I am working on my dream of living near the water and finishing my scuba certification and then moving on to surfing. Waiting till I retire means it may never happen.
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silverdaisy
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by silverdaisy on Jun 14, 2019 10:02:07 GMT
Love all these posts. Negatives turned into positives. Very inspirational!
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jun 14, 2019 11:21:45 GMT
There was not 'one' incident, but simply observing untimely losses in friends and family that slowly grew my awareness of how precious and transient life can be.
I'm also very conscious now of health. I do not take mine for granted.
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Post by hop2 on Jun 14, 2019 11:24:34 GMT
When my sister was killed I did refocus my life a bit. I more easily dropped the small stuff. I was more amenable to picking my battles. I definitely began to focus more on the people in my life as opposed to the stuff I have to do. The stuff I have to do will still be there tomorrow.
The fact that I could easily leave dishes in the sink in order to spend time with a friend instead did not do anything to help my dying marriage to a neat freak though. But I’m at peace with that.
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Post by delila on Jun 14, 2019 17:33:00 GMT
After working in a funeral home starting at the age of 17 you start to see life as being precious & easily taken away. I started to appreciate myself & other much more. Then I was finally diagnosed with epilepsy after being misdiagnosed for years & years with everything but epilepsy I learned even more how precious life truly is.
Those dishes in the sink will wait, that load of laundry will wait but my child or grandchildren might not wait for me, or my daddy who I am very close to. Those things are important, the rest is nothing.
Don’t take life for granted, it’s short like I am!!!!
delila
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scrapngranny
Pearl Clutcher
Only slightly senile
Posts: 4,949
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Post by scrapngranny on Jun 14, 2019 19:36:13 GMT
1993 I was diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm. It was found totally by accident after a series of events that only could be described as Devine intervention. Undetected the aneurysm would have been fatal. After a grueling surgery to repair the artery and 3 weeks in the hospital, I came away knowing I had been spared for a reason. Life can end at any moment. I let so many of life’s irritations roll off my back. From shopping carts to clerks who call me dear, life is too short.
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Post by disneypal on Jun 14, 2019 19:56:30 GMT
The saying hasn't impacted me but...the realization has. My brother died very sudden and unexpected a couple of years ago at the age of 54. He had so many plans for retirement and had planned to even retire early at age 55, but he didn't make it.
I had a friend fall down the stairs and her home and she passed away at age 58 then almost a year later to the day, another friend fell down the stairs in her home and died - she was 56.
I always knew that we were never promised tomorrow but at the same time, you just don't think about it much until you lose people that died before they got a chance to enjoy what they were working towards.
As a result, I have been thinking of retiring and I am in my early 50s. I have worked at the same agency for 34 years and have about 2 years worth of annual leave that I have never used (because of working too much). I think that I need to go ahead and retire and enjoy it - my brother didn't get to, my friends didn't get to. I might live to be 100 but I might live another week - who knows.
I've also learned that things that were a big deal are not such a big deal - I just don't get stressed out like I used to. We all are going to die and all those things are not going to matter in the end.
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Post by NanaKate on Jun 14, 2019 21:33:07 GMT
Absolutely! Having your little brother die of pancreatic cancer six weeks after diagnosis will do that to you. I never miss a chance to spend time with my loved ones or tell friends and family that I love them.
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momto4kiddos
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,156
Jun 26, 2014 11:45:15 GMT
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Post by momto4kiddos on Jun 14, 2019 23:55:39 GMT
I think what really hit home for me in the life is too short category was a couple of health scares. I was diagnosed with anemia the beginning of 2018 and my MD went looking for a cause. The additional tests found a few issues that had they not been found and were left untreated would have led to cancerous cells. In the span of about 13 months I had 3 procedures and 2 surgeries.
It gave me a new appreciation for my health because it's all behind me now! I feel great and the risk of anything reoccurring is extremely low, especially because i'll be monitored well. So I feel very relieved to have averted something worse.
During the past year I've been much happier in my life. I think even going through the procedures and surgeries I just felt lucky to be in a place where there were easy fixes. I also had a lot of family drama prior and during. While that stressed me quite a bit in the past, I've found I just care less about drama and hold close to my dh and my adult kids. Guess these things have just made me hold some things closer and let a lot of other stuff go. I often think i'm in the happiest place I've ever been in life.
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scrappington
Pearl Clutcher
in Canada
Posts: 3,157
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Post by scrappington on Jun 15, 2019 2:17:15 GMT
When my husband first died I did. Then life goes on and you forget. The 10th anniversary of his death is approaching and I will finally catch up in age with him this year as well.
I need to get back to the life is short mentality and just do things. Stop procrastinating
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Post by Merge on Jun 15, 2019 2:27:02 GMT
Yep. My mom died in an accident at 57. I'm 46. It weighs on me. I'd sure like to be around a lot more than 11 more years, but we're not promised anything.
(Bringing this more home to me is that my cousin on my dad's side, born two days before me, is dying of glioblastoma right now. He'll leave behind an 11 year old son. I just don't even know what to do with that.)
I've made the decision, I think, to leave teaching and move into some kind of corporate training work. DH's vast network should make this fairly simple to do. It's not for me, but because I want to be able to help my daughters pay for the educations they want and deserve, and we can't do that with my current salary. If I die at 57 like my mom, I will at least have done that.
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Post by ilikepink on Jun 15, 2019 3:07:29 GMT
When I was growing up, my mom was a single mom before that was a thing. She lived frugally, read:cheap, so she could save for her retirement. She always said she didn’t want to be a burden to me in her old age
Around the time I had my first son, she hurt her back, and never completely recovered, developed COPD, and died at 72. She didn’t travel, didn’t go out, didn’t buy things she wanted. Her life revolves around me, an only child, and caring for my grandfather. When he died, she was devastated.
I decided I would be happy in my life. Do things I wanted, within reason, and allow my children to live their own lives. My second husband thought similarly, and we traveled some. While I don’t have the money to travel, I did move to where I wanted to live, and make a point to be happy.
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