The title of this post is a song by “The Band Perry”
The partial lyrics are ~
If I die young, bury me in satin Lay me down on a bed of roses Sink me in the river at dawn Send me away with the words of a love song.
Lord make me a rainbow, I’ll shine down on my mother She’ll know I’m safe with you when she stands under my colors Oh, and life ain’t always what you think it ought to be, no Ain’t even gray, but she buries her baby.
The sharp knife of a short life Well, I’ve had just enough time.
If I die young, bury me in satin Lay me down on a bed of roses Sink me in the river at dawn Send me away with the words of a love song.
In some respects this is a sad, somber song. In other respects it is telling me to prepare for the possibility of “If I Die Young”.
In reality, I did die young ….. many, many times almost five years ago. Some would disagree that I was “young”, but I digress. By the grace of God, a lot of prayers, a healthy dose of faith, an incredible donor and a team of WORLD CLASS HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS, I am still here. All thanks to a heart transplant.
Regardless, I’ve never forgotten how close I was to “the end game”. There were things I hadn’t said, things I hadn’t done, people who I loved that would have never heard the actual words from my lips. In other words, there were a LOT of loose ends.
I think tying up loose ends is a genetic thing that I got from my Mom. When my Mom passed away this summer she left her pre-written obituary and pre-planned funeral service. We knew she had worked on both for many years. It made that part easy for us and allowed us to grieve.
Over the past 1,741 days since I was given a second chance, I’ve tied up a lot of those loose ends ….. my family knows, as they should, what my final wishes are. I have advanced directives in place and set up a communication system for many of my “electronic friends” that I’ve never met face to face, so they would know what happened and that I hadn’t suddenly and simply “vaporized”.
I have the amazing support of a couple of kindred friends, that I can lean on during the tough times ….. which is something I truly need at times.
I’m still working on a few things …… I want to be able to “give” something to my grand kiddos …… this blog would be one of those things. There are services that will take many or even all of my posts and convert them into a book format ….. something I’m still working on ….. the devil is always in the details you know …. who, what, when, where …. and the always popular, “HOW MUCH?”
To me, it’s not exactly morbid to think about our ending here on earth as it can make the transition easier for our descendants. It’s more a matter of being realistic, because life can and does change in a SPLIT SECOND!
I want to be ready …. yet I believe I’ll be truly “old” when I leave this world!
Here’s the link to the “If I Die Young” video ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NJqUN9TClM
To my friends and family I say ~ Each day is an opportunity to say, “I LOVE YOU”
My2ndHeartBeat 