"For One More Day"

Mitch Albom's newest book titled "For One More Day" comes out on September 26th & I can't wait to buy it. There was an article in this Sunday's Parade about the book, asking the question "If you had one day with someone who's gone, who would it be? What would you do?" There's more than one person that I would want to spend one more day with.

One of them would be this little angel, Bonnie Mae Keller. She was my niece, Donna's little girl & such a joy. She made everyone that knew her smile. And once she learned how to walk, she was everywhere, which is how we ended up losing her. She was just your typical little girl that loved to play outside & one afternoon, she opened the front door & was running like any kid would do. As her Mom was running out the door after her, it was too late. A car was backing down the firelane (where it shouldn't have been in the first place) & hit Bonnie Mae. She was in ICU for several hours, but we were told by the doctor that even if she did survive, her brain was already gone :( The hardest thing Donna ever had to do was let go of her little girl! If I could spend one more day with Bonnie Mae, I would just hold her & rock her & smile with her!

Two more people that I would love to spend one more day with are my oldest sister Karen & brother-in-law Jimmy. I'm sure if you read my blog enough, you already know how we lost them tragically on August 29, 2004. If I had one more day to spend with them, I would tell them just how much I love them & how much they both have influenced my life! I would go visit them at their house, not caring that it was 2 hours away from Williamsport. I would go shopping with Karen one last time so we could laugh, catch up on each other's lives & just enjoy being sisters & best friends.

Lastly, I would love to spend one more day with my ex-husband, Ron. I would love to know why he commited suicide. What was so hard for him to deal with that he felt like that was the only answer? What could I, or anyone else, have done to stop you? I did this layout a few months ago asking those very same questions. Yes, he was my ex-husband when he killed himself, but he always held a very special place in my heart. He was the father to my son & a friend to everyone he met. What would we do if we had one more day together? Talk......just talk! Something we were both good at.

One thing I have learned from losing so many loved ones is that you truly do need to cherish each & every moment you have. Show the people you love NOW what they mean to you! Don't wait until later because later may never come! Trust me, I'm speaking from experience.

Benita