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Health & Fitness

First Post, Last Day

As media coverage focuses on the forecasted final rapture, I contemplate, "What would I do on my last day? How would I spend my last day? What if today were my last day?"

They say you only have one chance at making a (good) first impression so I went through a long list of possible topics for my first Patch blog post.  As media coverage and conversations increased focus on the final rapture predicted for May 21, 2011, my mind turned toward the question of one’s last day.

While personally I don’t believe that the end of the world will come on a predicted date, I think the idea of a specifically forecasted “Great Rapture” offers a valuable opportunity to consider how I would choose to live my last day. “What would I do on my last day?  How would I spend my last day?  What if today were my last day?”

These questions return me to a very specific family memory:  Thanksgiving 1998.  Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday in my family, as it is many families.  While over the course of the years it has been observed in different ways and in different settings, it always has been a deliberate observance.  As a child, we spent the day “up the country” at my grandparents’ house at the northernmost tip of Hunterdon County along the southern shore of the Musconetcong River, a place named “Changewater.” 

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After my grandfather’s death and my grandmother’s relocation, we spent Thanksgiving with my grandmother, whether she was living with us or near her sisters in Mount Vernon, N.Y.  After her death, we spent it with my Mom’s family at my aunt and uncle’s house in Morris County and then in the years immediately preceding 1998 at my uncle’s sister and brother-in-law’s house in Morris County.  Wherever we were, Thanksgiving was a much celebrated, very decorated event. 

Due to a convergence of circumstances, however, in 1998 we were not able to travel by car at Thanksgiving so we opted to stay at home in Jesrey City and have a small family dinner. I had worked at the hospital that morning and arrived back at home just in time for dinner, a simple but delicious dinner my mother and sister had prepared.  It had the core traditional elements of our family’s Thanksgiving dinner: roast turkey with crispy skin, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pearl onions along with plenty of apple cider and pumpkin pie.  My Dad enjoyed watching TV and my niece and nephew playing.  It was a totally stressless, family-focused day with a good meal and lots of quality time spent together. 

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Two weeks later, totally unexpectedly, my Dad died.  That Thanksgiving had been his last holiday. My mother, sister, and I have often thought back to that last holiday as a family and each of us agreed that if we had it do over we would have had Thanksgiving in exactly the same way.  We also concurred that he would not have wanted to have his last holiday any other way than the way we celebrated Thanksgiving in 1998.

Some people write a “bucket list,” a list of things they want to do, see, experience, or achieve before dying, before “kicking the bucket.”  Most people imagine having many years in which to complete the items on their bucket list.  But what if someone only had 24 hours to live?  What would he/she want to do?  How would he/she want to spend those final 24 hours?

In light of the attention given to the predicted day of rapture on May 21st, I have posed those questions to myself.  If I knew that I only had 24 hours to live, how would I spend my last day?

  • Would I have a meal of eggplant rollatini and vodka penne with a loved one at Leonardo’s?
  • Would I seek out quiet space and contemplation at the Church of Saint Ann?
  • Would I send a text to every single person in my Blackberry?
  • Would I post a final testament note on Facebook?
  • Would I get custard or water ice from Rita’s or ice cream from Halo Farm?
  • Would I hide cuddled up with a good book (or The Good Book) in my bedroom?
  • Would I have a gathering of family and friends for one final celebration?
  • Would I stay at home with my family and dogs, watching TV and playing a few games of Scrabble?
  • Would I go on a spending spree and buy gifts for my loved ones?
  • Would I take a ride to the shore and spend hours gazing out at the ocean waves and the horizon?
  • Would I go for a walk around the neighborhood or a bike ride along the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail?
  • Would I…?

The list of “Would I” possibilities is virtually endless.  “Carpe diem” (=seize the day) or “Live each day as if it were your last.” The reality is that the world ends every day for people who die on that day.  For me, at this point in my life, I think I’d just live it as any other day, trying to be sure that I am right with God and with the people in my life.  I don’t think I’d go out and do something exceptional.  “Live each day as if it were your last” works for me as do “Live life to the fullest” and “Live intensely.”  But that’s me.  How about you?

If today were your last day on this earth and you knew it, how would you spend it?  What would you do with your last day? (I invite you to post your reply as a comment.)

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