Today marks what would have been my second wedding anniversary. For the entirety of summer, and really, this whole year, I& #39;ve had a very difficult time grappling with not having my wife around. We were going to try to have a child, and buy our house (at last!), but a month after

our wedding she was diagnosed with cancer, and hospitalized with complications the next day. She passed away 8 months later.

I& #39;ve since moved multiple times; I& #39;m currently with a long-time friend of 13 years. Experiencing the tumult and impermanence of life has been a bitter

pill, and losing my mother first to addiction and also later to death has compounded my recovery process. What I thought were solid and enduring relationships with family were revealed to be tenuous, conditional, and transactional. I& #39;m still struggling with the understanding

that life and all we know in it can be taken at a moment& #39;s notice, and without warning. We& #39;re conditioned to bottle up our negative emotions and not share how we& #39;re doing with those closest around us. We shuttle our elderly and young into the arms of strangers and decry

the loss of culture, family values and traditions in broader society.

What survives us is the impact we make in the lives of those around us. Live accordingly. Love accordingly. Embrace your passion and purpose, and those close to you in your life. It may be your last chance.