a day of ups and downs

I'm not a fan of April Fool's Day and it was not a day where I was fooled by anything funny this year. It was a rollercoaster of a day. I figured out a wonderful gift to give someone as a birthday present and I was able to make the reservations for it and get exactly what I wanted (and it is soooo very cool but I cannot discuss because of the audience - no Stephanie, it isn't you - we've got No Doubt). I bought matching dresses for Beca and me, though hers will be too big and I will have to try to take it in for this year. Then the floor fell out. Our company lost one of its co-founders to a sudden death that was announced late afternoon with virtually no details. And then we also lost one of our quality engineers just a few hours later as he ended an 18 month battle with cancer (confirmed this morning). No laughing on this April fool's. Except that a good friend of mine was celebrating her birthday and announcing a pregnancy. Up and Down and back Up. It was a day that proves what life is all about. Our ability to continue forward despite what is put in front of us. And the decisions we make all the time to listen to the little nudges or the large slap upside the head to actually follow through with taking different steps. We have to continue to live life as long as we can because we don't know when it will be taken away. We might get to say good bye but have to suffer and watch someone in pain. Or we might never have a chance to say anything and know that the pain was short and minimal. Either way, death is inevitable for any of us and it is a matter of how we choose to deal with it as the living. I prefer to celebrate the life and times we had.