Reece Gardner: Time is precious

TIME is precious. Every day it credits us with 24 hours which we must live in the present and make the most of each day. For example: To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade; To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby; To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper; To realize the value of ONE DAY, ask a daily wage laborer with children to feed; To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train; And to realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.

A doctor gave an example recently on what life and love is really all about. Here is what he said: "It was a very busy morning when a rather elderly gentleman arrived at 8:30 AM to have stitches removed from his finger. He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:30 AM. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing that it would be an hour before someone would be able to see him. I noticed him looking at his watch and decided, since I wasn't busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. Upon examination I saw that the wound was well healed, so I talked to one of the other doctors, and got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress the wound.

While taking care of him, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment as he was in such a hurry. He told me no, that he needed to get to get to the nursing home to have breakfast with his wife. I then inquired as to her health, and he told me she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, and that she hadn't recognized him for three years. I was surprised and asked him, 'And you still go there every morning even though she doesn't know who you are?' He smiled and patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is'"

Some parting thoughts: Hold your loved ones close today and tell them that you care. Tell them that you love them and always want them near. Take time to say "I'm sorry," "Please forgive me," and "It's OK," then if tomorrow never comes, there'll be no regrets today. Three things we can't recover: A stone once it's been thrown, a word once it's been said, and TIME after it's gone.

Now for a humorous close: A taxi passenger tapped the driver on the shoulder to ask him a question. The driver screamed, almost lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, and came to a stop just two feet from a shop window. For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said, "Look, Mister, don't ever do that again, you nearly scared me to death." The passenger apologiced and said, "I didn't realize that a little tap on the shoulder would scare you so much." The driver replied, "Sorry, it's not your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver. I've been driving a funeral van for the last 25 years!" Have a wonderful day!