In the midst of life

My grandmother died yesterday.  She suffered an aneurism shortly after Christmas and, although initially she seemed to be responding to treatment, her health took a rapid downturn late Wednesday night. 

I'm sorry, I don't mean to blight your weekend with sadness.  She was an old lady and had been very unhappy since we lost my grandfather back in 2008 - it is a comfort to think that they are now together.  Her life had not been a full one of late; she was obsessed with her own (sometimes real, sometimes perceived) ill health to a ridiculous degree - by the end it was her only interest.  For all that, and for all that I am glad that her final illness was relatively quick and painless and that the family, particularly my father and his brother, have been spared the pain of watching her slowly decline, it is still a shock. 

The only things I can think of to say at the moment are trite - but I'll say them anyway.  Life is precious - good health is precious and those of us lucky enough to have both should value them and never take them for granted.  If that means pulling our fingers out and committing to eating better, drinking less, exercising more (I hasten to add I think primarily of myself here) then we should be doing it not thinking about it or planning to do it one day in the future.  And love, that's precious too.  Give your loved ones an extra tight hug tonight and give thanks for their beautiful selves.