This is a bit off topic for my Mommy blog…but I need to get this off of my heart. I do not say this because I am guilty of it…I say this because I have seen it…and I am heartbroken and very angry.

Please…don’t wait until it’s too late to spend time with those in your life who are nearing the end of theirs. Don’t forget them. These are people…your FAMILY. Men and women who have worked hard to raise a family – Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Great Aunts and Great Uncles. They will love you and think about you right up until the moment they draw in their last breath.

Be there for them. Visit them. Take them out for lunch. Buy them flowers. Take them out for a drive in the car. SPEND TIME WITH THEM. Please spend time with them. It may only be a half hour out of your day but to that person…it’s the highlight of their week. To have seen you…hugged you…to have heard about your day. To know that they have NOT been forgotten.

Don’t say that you don’t have time. You know how you leave 15 minutes early for work to buy a coffee? Well instead…leave 15 minutes early to say hello to someone who is desperate to see you. DON’T say that you don’t have time. When it comes to family – you MAKE time.

If your family needs help…STEP UP. Do whatever you can to help make their final years or days good ones. Don’t assume someone else will do it.

Do NOT put off trips to see them. Please don’t belittle them with vague excuses of why you can’t come to see them. Don’t spend money to see their body…spend money to see them LIVING.

If you have not done this…when they are gone…DO NOT cry crocodile tears. Do NOT say how much you miss them. Do NOT play the part of the mourning family member. Do NOT weep over their body…because you don’t deserve to. They wanted to see you in life, not in death.

Don’t forget your family. Someday you will grow old and you will ache for the company of your family. When the door remains closed all day and the phone remains silent…you will know how it feels to be forgotten.

Now…please go and be the highlight of someone’s day.