Sometimes "growing old" depresses me.  Life moves so swift that in a blink of an eye, a chapter in my life is already closed.     Chapters close before I'm  ready.  Right when I have learned to appreciate where I am.  Sometimes they close for me at the height of it all, only to leave me to fall hard.    When I'm lucky, chapters also close at the perfect ending.

Chapters seem to close more quickly as the days go by too.  Each birthday I celebrate I always find myself saying how quickly the year went. And, each year seems to speed up.  It is a scary cycle. 

I think that what makes the cycle so hard as I get older is the fact that life speeds up not only for me, but everyone close to me.  My friends and the ones I care about scatter, our footprints are left behind where we formed our friendships and relationships, and we find ourselves suddenly caught up in life.   When I am lucky, the relationships stand the test of the physical distance, but sometimes unfortunately they get lost in the whirl wind.

I think about people who have touched my life on a daily basis.  Something will jog my memory of a child hood friend, neighbor,  coach, or mentor and it often makes me sad that I never took the time to let people know how I appreciate the impact they made on my life. 

 I think of this more often since my Dad passed away.  At his funeral, people came who he had not been in contact with for over twenty-five years.  These people drove from Kentucky, Florida, or wherever they were scattered.  I was so moved that my Dad touched them so much that they had come to pay their respects even after they had long lost touch.  It also made me sad that my Dad never got to see the impact that he made.   I realized that a funeral is a testament to the lives that we touch, but I wish it wasn't like that.  I wish my Dad had heard the stories of how he had made a difference in someone's life while he was alive.....  most were small and subtle acts of kindness, but they added up to a much larger picture.    And if you add each person's relationship they had with my Dad together, it tells the story of a wonderful man.  

So I don't want to live my life anymore not thanking those for all that they do... subtle or simple, big or large.  I want people to know how much they mean to me while I have the chance to tell them.  I want people to know that I appreciate their generosity, their friendship, and their help.  I want to make sure that I mend those that I hurt, and thank those who have blessed my life.  And, more importantly, I want to make sure that I never let go of those people and friendships I love even as our footprints scatter the Earth.

So this is my challenge to myself.  Every two weeks I want to write an e-mail, letter, etc. to someone who has touched my life.  As corny as it, I think everyone should know and will appreciate the time you take to tell them that they have made an impact.  I hope to reach out to those that I haven't heard from in years, and also to thank those who are in my life right now.   Maybe a broken or lost relationship will mend, and it sure to only strengthen those that I have now.  The thing is, chapters may come and go, they may close, but it is not nearly as scary when the ones you love are at least there to read it.