What were your last words? :*(

Hi Blog....


Weather: Cold.....We are hoping that this is not the end of the summer and I am worried about my flowers and veggie garden.


Exchange Rate: $1.43 = 1 Euro




Every once in awhile something happens that suddenly puts life in perspective.


Sadly, today was one of those moments for me.


I have been feeling anxious, because LEGS has left town to fly a broken helicopter......I know right?


I have been incredibly nervous and have been reminded how dangerous his job is (not that I forgot).  I even had a hard time sleeping last night, I laid in the dark feeling scared in the house by myself, wondering if I would make it to sleep and if I would wake up alive.....(you know how your mind wanders and has you absolutely convinced an ax murderer is going to GETCHA!)




This morning when I woke I received a message on facebook from a dear friend, informing me that a mutual friend lost his two small children in a horrific car wreck.  

ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS REPORTS:

Troopers said Shaina Watt, 27, of Chugiak was traveling south in her Chevrolet SUV. She attempted to pass a vehicle but lost control and her SUV was T-boned by a northbound Chevy pickup, troopers said.

The pickup was driven by James McPherson, 61, of Palmer, troopers said.

Killed in the crash were Haley Watt, 5 months old, and Levi Watt, 4, said trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters. Haley, Levi, and a woman were passengers in Watt's SUV. The side of the vehicle with the infant took the brunt of the impact, the spokeswoman said.

The baby died at the scene. Watt, Levi and the other adult were airlifted by a helicopter ambulance to the hospital, troopers said. Levi died Saturday, troopers said.

McPherson, the other driver, also was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, troopers said.

Everyone in the two vehicles was wearing seat belts or restrained in car seats, troopers said.

This father of the two deceased children was a marine, who served with LEGS in Iraq.  He made it through a tough deployment and then settled in ALASKA with his wife.  He got a job working as a guard on the gate of Fort Richardson.  LEGS and I both worked with him at this job.  I did not know him very well, as it seemed we always worked opposite shifts or at different locations on the base and he was a quiet fellow......but I remember clearly some important things about him.


He was a very hard worker.  He was a reliable employee, who showed up to work- which was at that job highly commendable as it was so absolutely rare.  I remember that he cared very deeply for his wife, he worked very hard so that she didn't have to.  


He carpooled to work with friends when he could so that she could have the vehicle to take care of business.  On the days he couldn't carpool she would drive him to work.  I remember seeing him kiss her through the car window on a regular basis, and when he would pull away, I remember seeing the anxiousness in his face as he would worry about her driving in the icy roads in ALASKA.  They had a son together.  I remember everybody at work giving him a pat on the back for producing a boy.  


I did not know his wife.  I did not know their children, except maybe a peek in the window at the newborn boy.  I barely knew him.  But......this morning has me thinking about his commitment to his family.


I remember that he was so loyal to his family, that sometimes everybody gave him a hard time about it.  We would need shift coverage and he couldn't do it because his wife was already on her way to get him, or he needed to be home with his family.  I remember distinctly people giving him a hard time, with a sideways glance, a roll of the eyes or some behind the scenes comment.   


All I could think of today, is how their last minutes together as a family were spent?  Did he kiss the children goodbye?  Were they in a hurry to be reunited?  Did he tell his wife he loves her?  Were there smiles?  


I thought of how I most certainly bet that his children knew how much he loved them, and how they probably adored him.....I was thinking how they must have known that for sure because of how committed he was to his family.  I think he may have been one of the most committed men I have ever known.  


Obviously my heart is broken, and tears are only a song, a thought or a memory away.......not because I knew them all that well, but because of how angry I am at myself for not being even more grateful for this day.  For not loving my own family more.  For not being more forgiving, compassionate, and seeing life with more clarity.


I can only hope that LEGS and I will be able to show each other and our future children the absolute, loyal, non-wavering commitment that this man showed his family.  Even if it means....losing face.....


If you have honored me today by reading my words......spend a few minutes thinking about your life, your self, and the people close to you...because....


One day....YOUR LIFE will flash before your eyes....and you should make sure its worth watching.........


What have you done today to make your life count? Are you who you want to be? Are you where you want to be? Why not? What have you done to show the people you love most, that you DO love them? That you do care?  And if there is no one special in your life.....How come? How do you make people feel? What was your last facebook status?  How did you say goodbye this morning to those that you love?  What were your last words?


Just another day in the life of an unlikely military wife.....**