Timing is the compelling force apparent when chance and coincidence collide. It also brings awareness to our attention. On April 29th, 2019 my grandmother passed away, she was 89 years old. It reminded me how fast life can turn around.
The last time I saw my grandmother was at my wedding 4 months ago. She looked healthy and was very happy. We talked about our plans for visiting her next time I was going to be in Japan. Little did I know, that would be the last time I saw her.
I am so grateful that I had my wedding when I did. One of the reasons why we got married within 3 months of being engaged was just that. In my job, we take the last 2 weeks of December off and I had a decision to either have it right away or wait until next year. This decision turned out to be the best one I ever made (not saying that I always make bad decisions). Had I waited a year, my grandmother would have not have made it. And that would have been my biggest regret.
At first, I didn’t know how we were going to do it. Getting married in a location we never visited. On top of that, in a different country. All the credit goes to my wife for the hours and hours of planning with the wedding coordinator, despite the 16-hour difference from the US to Japan. The countless hours of video conferencing and having our mothers translate the complex words used in the Japanese language. It made it all worth it seeing my grandmother’s face, crying with joy.
Timing works in complicated ways and events like this remind us how short life can really be. Health is taken for granted and when we lose the ability to do such and such is when we say, “I wish I can do this or that.” It’s funny how it works. When you lose the ability to do something is when you have instant regret. So my takeaway is this.
Don’t wait to accomplish something because you never know if that window of opportunity will close. I know one thing is for sure, nothing is guaranteed in life. So take advantage of what you have and can do. Hope you enjoyed this week’s blog. Stay tuned for more next Wed…………..Kei
Here is my grandmother and I in 2017. Thank you for everything and RIP GMa.