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Leap Day

It’s Leap Day!

It also happened to be bridge night.

Now, I’m not usually one to take extra advantage of Leap Day, but to some, today is an extra day to do something–anything–so long as it’s a positive activity.  Do something MORE.  Do something you might never do on the boring other 365 days of the year.  The expression, “Seize the Day!” truly has a new meaning on today!

But I discovered today that Leap Day can also be a day of disappointment and grief…

Every so often, one of our bridge players likes to drive. Today, said bridge player happened to have his car and offered my husband and I a ride home (or at least a ride to the 7 train).  Naturally, we accepted.

During this car ride, however, we found out that our friend lost his brother on Leap Day, approximately 10 years ago.  Our friend told us that his brother apparently had gotten drunk and laid himself down in the middle of some train tracks, and they never found out whether it was intentional or not.  And to do so on Leap Day!?  He surely “seized the day,” but not in the way others seem to on a day that occurs once every four years.

Naturally, my friend’s story reminded me of my own best friend who committed suicide, also 10 years ago…

My friend wasn’t drunk.  He wasn’t high.  He just–gave up…

At the time, blogging’s version of blogging was called “live journal,” and I remember his last entry (which he wrote barely 24 hours before his death) which stated that “I know I should have so much to be grateful for, but I just can’t feel…happy…”

This always stuck out to me.  Maybe because I’ve felt that very same way before.  For some reason, I feel like all of us have.

So I guess the moral of today’s lesson is to be grateful.  Be grateful for EVERY day that each of us have.  With each other, but also ourselves.  Don’t take ANY day for granted.  Even if it’s an extra day of the year…

#HeresToTheLovedOnesWeveLost

rob23

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