I am holding her tightly now.  Her terrified eyes look at me, then the ceiling, then back at me.  Her breathing is coming in short and irregular.  I try to hold her here, but she is leaving.  Her body is jerking, trying to break free. I want to talk to her.  I want to tell her to stay.  I want her to breathe.  Every part of my being is willing her to live.  Tears stream down my face as her breathing becomes even more irregular. Her muscles tighten.  She arches her back, her eyes growing wider.  I hold even tighter.  This is the end.  I pull her head towards mine and put my mouth to her ear. "Oh baby...I love you!" One last spasm.  Her eyes are vacant.  The breath squeezes from her body.  She is gone. I wake up.

Fortunately this was only a dream.  Jenn is still alive and our lives are continuing "normally".  The dream reminded me how much our society takes death for granted.  We often think about tomorrow, next year, even ten years from now, but we fail to realize that all our planning ends the same.  We all end up dead.

Where will you be 100 years from now?

I remember the first time I encountered death.  When I was about 12 years old I had a guinea pig named Sherlock.  I played with him, fed and watered him, and cleaned his cage.  But, as the novelty of owning a guinea pig wore off I played, fed and cleaned him less often. In an attempt to get me to clean his cage my mother moved him outside to our deck.  I imagine she thought that I would miss him and that I would clean his cage so I could bring him back inside.  Instead the adage, "out of sight, out of mind" came into play.  I completely neglected him for a solid week...in July. One day my mother called to me from the deck.  My brother and I came to find my mother standing by Sherlock's cage.  Sherlock was curled up as if asleep.  Eyes closed.  Completely motionless.  When I pet him he didn't move.  I can still feel the hard, rigid form under his fur. Sherlock struck home the message that everything dies.  Every person on this planet will die.  Even you will die. My question is, what do you plan to do with the time you have?  Are you going to neglect your life like I neglected Sherlock? - Sean