Life is too short for later.

Today a classmate died, someone I met before kindergarten and went to school with through high school. We were friends and neighbors. As a kid we shared countless days of summer with the neighborhood kids running through the streets of View Cliff and biking to Adelaide Beach. I boarded my horse at his house- they had a pasture and a barn.

His family was a good family of kind people with a great sense of humor. He married a gal he clearly adored and they had a family of two rescued cats in their home in Japan. When the earthquake hit, he went back out into the wreckage in Japan to care for and save the many pets left behind. He was a good guy, heck he even wrote his own obituary on his blog. As it always does, the death of someone my age made me think about my own life. Toby spent a lot of time coaching and helping others, so I imagine in some way he'd appreciate this.

I am not a person who has to physically see the people I am friends with, I don't do lunch with old high school girlfriends or get together really with college pals.

But a few years ago we had a class reunion, and I missed it. Since then two classmates have died, it would have been nice to say hello. I wouldn't regret missing the reunion, except for the reason I missed it- I didn't want anyone to see me overweight.

I'm heavier than I was when I was a high school cheerleader, and I was afraid people would think of me as a failure, or talk behind my back. Or think I'd "gone to pot" and wasn't pretty or worthwhile anymore. So I made up an excuse and didn't go. A  few friend who were in town that know my hubby came out and we got together and I was terrified the whole time of what they were thinking. What was I thinking? I regret not either 1) doing something about my health or 2) getting over it and just going.

I read a comment on Toby's facebook page which said, " Life is too short for later."  How true.