I once worked with an amazing woman, Leslie, who I have long admired.  She was everything I would like to be – beautiful, athletic, intelligent, tall.  Leslie was a master swimmer who also had completed Ironman (Ironwoman?) Triathlons.  When I started training for my first marathon, Leslie was one of the people I turned to for advice, which was always on point and helpful.  

We worked together on projects that sometimes seemed meaningless.  When we had moments of despair about the lack of success on what we were doing, Leslie would counsel me not to worry, in two years nobody would even know we ever worked at that company (sad but true).  But the best piece of wisdom Leslie ever shared with me was this: tomorrow is promised to no one.  It is a little nugget I have tucked away in my brain that floats to the surface when I need it the most.  Right now is one of those times.

For over 13 years I have had a running buddy, Jane.  She ran one marathon and completed a half Ironman Triathlon (neither with me).  I remember watching her swim laps in the community pool when she trained for the tri.  She had the smoothest stroke of any swimmer I have ever watched.  It seemed almost effortless.  Jane would join me for training runs when I was training for one of my many races.  In 2020 when I participated in the first Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee, Jane got up super duper early (i.e., 4:30 AM) to join me on my daily walks.  I was in rehab from my knee surgery and couldn’t run yet.  I will never forget the morning we were walking along a trail and I swear I saw a ghost reach out to grab her.  It was a moment I will never forget.  Anyway, Jane was always there in the morning, though she had to turn back early – she was still working and had a job to clock into.

I have lovely memories of the two of us meeting up on Sunday mornings to run, stopping by to see my fortune cookie and chat with the homeowner.  We would pound out the miles, stopping to take photos if something grabbed our attention (Jane loved any sunrise and I mean ANY sunrise).  On holidays like Christmas we would wear festive outfits during our miles.  We even ran a few local 5Ks together (though Jane could beat the pants off me any day of the week).

Sadly Jane is now very ill. I will never run with her again.  Things came on quickly and she seems to be on a downward spiral that cannot be stopped.  Jane was fine one day and then the next things took a 180 degree turn.  She is much younger than me.  I am certain there were things she planned to do later in life, perhaps when she retired.  Those things will never happen now.

Watching my friend go through this has made me think about my view of life.  First, I don’t have anything to complain about. Ever.  Maybe I am inconvenience by something in my daily routine but it can’t hold a candle to what my friend is going through.  Someone cut you off in traffic?  Big deal, you still can keep driving wherever you were headed.  Jane won’t be driving anywhere she wants again.  Second, I am now more conscious of how important EVERY day is.  Is there something I want to do?  Would I be angry or frustrated if I wasted today watching mindless tv or surfing the web?  Probably.  I can hear myself if the music stopped and I could no longer enjoy life.  “I could have…” “I would have…”  Doesn’t matter if you can’t ever again.  I am pretty certain Jane had plans for the sunset years of her life.  She won’t see those.

That leads me to my piece of advice, a theme suggested by Leslie.  If there is something you want to do in life – climb a mountain, run a marathon, complete a century ride on a bicycle, whatever – do it now.  The day may come when you can’t.  Nobody knows when that day arrives for anyone of us.  Life doesn’t necessarily give us advanced warning as to when the proverbial rug will be pulled out from under us.  Because as Leslie pointed out, tomorrow is promised to no one.

Several years ago my husband and I drew up a wish list of things we wanted to do.  It was silly, probably the result of an evening of drinking too much.  I wrote all those things down.  Awhile back I found the list and was surprised we had done everything we really wanted to do.  I realized then no matter what happens to me I have done more than I ever thought possible.  My life has been full beyond measure.  

That my friend is being robbed of years with her children and grandchildren breaks my heart in a million pieces.  But her situation should be a lesson to us all to not take today for granted. Don’t waste a second. Take advantage of everything you can.  Even the richest men on the planet – Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet – can’t buy the one thing we all want.  Time. Time to do the things we want.  Because tomorrow is promised to no one.