I look back at my thirty-six years of married life with my husband Robert, and I have zero regrets.  All the ups and downs in life, they mean nothing when you have your loved ones around you.  In this life, all we have is what we leave in the end.  Family and good friends, good memories to hold close, that is precious and should be a top priority. If you haven’t hugged your spouse or kids, what are you waiting for? Have you brought your grandchild over to see their grandparents?  What are you waiting for?  Share the memories, build the ties that bind for a lifetime.  Don’t build regrets you will have to live with the rest of your life. Don’t hold grudges that mean absolutely nothing in the end. Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas right around the corner.  I look back at all the Thanksgivings over the years.  When I was growing up, my family would have these great family dinners, my mother would cook for hours and would serve mounds of food. When I cook for Thanksgiving I think of my mother and all the memories of those family dinners come back to me. Why do I cook too much food? Because I am feeling all those emotions from years and years of big family get-togethers. So what if we eat leftovers for a couple weeks?  All those memories are priceless. I remember my nieces and nephews coming over, my parent’s grandchildren, we were playing, bonding, eating, laughing.  Some of them are gone now and all I have are the memories. Precious, memories of lost loved ones, you are not forgotten, I will always remember your smiles, your teases, your tears. You are hidden in my heart and I pull you out when I miss you and remember the good times.  Thank God I was raised in a close family.  I tried to instil these values in my family, I have had some success and some disappointments, but I know that is part of being a family.  You are going to have ups and downs, you are going to have challenges, just don’t wait until those family members are dead before you realize the value of those relationships.  My husband had a stroke last November, he has been slowly recovering over the last year, I thank God every day he is on this earth and still with me. He is my soulmate, the rock I have hugged when life tossed curve balls at me.  His mother moved in with us over two years ago.  Every day we make fond memories with her, moments in time are precious.  She turned 85 this year, which means she has lived longer than any of her relatives so far.  The woman is a  dynamo and pioneer in her own time. She was a computer programmer back when that meant a room full of computer hardware. When I met my husband, he told me he wanted a woman like his mother, strong, self-motivating and career-oriented.  I get to thank her every day for being that way, so I could win the man of my dreams.  Relationships and family; at the end that is what we leave behind, memories, legacies, hopes and dreams.  “Like tomorrow was a gift and you’ve got eternity To think about what you do with it”, Tim Mcgraw from the song “Live Like you were Dying” Live every day like it was your last, would you hug a little longer? Forgive a little faster? Go on more family vacations? Chat with a long lost relative?  Love your family because, in the end, they got your back, they are all you have.  They will be there for you when no one else will. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas, I love you all.