When I was a kid, snow days were the best. I would run to the window and look outside and see snow twinkling down as the roads became coated with snow. I would eagerly wait for the phone call that finally said,”School is cancelled.”
I remember one particular week where the snow was so bad that we were closed for not only one day, but four days: Monday through Thursday. That Friday I jumped out of bed, ready for the school to call it to make it a full week. I looked outside and saw the snow and silently cheered in my head. A Snow Day was here for sure.
Then I heard a scream from my mother, followed by a cry. I knew at that moment that something was wrong. My life was going to change forever. I ran outside with gusto to discover my mom on the couch and my dad crying alongside her while my mom yelled for the person on the phone to call her back.
My heart pounded loudly as I discovered my brother had a drug overdose. And not the kind you recover from. He was gone at age twenty three. Forever. On that day when the snow twinkled beside me, my life fell apart.
My brother was my best friend. He would throw me across the pool when I was younger as I giggled for him to do it again. He would drive way too fast as I clutched onto the handle of the car trying to hold on tight in the passenger seat. I would wake him up way too early, and just lay there beside him, laughing as he groaned for me to go away. He would turn into a “ticklebug” as I desperately tried to escape his wrath.
And just like that… he was gone. No more. All I had was memories. Looking back now, I remember that life is so precious and can change in a blink of an eye.
What I have to say is: Say I love you too many times to the people you care about. Hug them while you can because time is fleeting, and someday you may not be able to. Make memories with the people who care about you. Take lots of pictures. Laugh until you cry. Dance like nobody's watching. Make those memories that will last a lifetime, because memories are way more powerful than anything you could ever buy. Someday, they will be all you have left.
