#75-87. Twelve Days of Heys.
Sometimes it's the simplest things that make the biggest impression. Example: On November 4, 2013, I mindlessly checked my Facebook account (is it not completely horrifying to realize you're automatically typing "Facebo..." when you meant to look up something useful, like the weather? I can't be the only one who catches myself doing that!). I saw this:
It's two sentences from a guy I have not seen in person for 10 years, but someone I'd think about from time to time. Eli was two grades ahead of me at Stillwater High School. Kind, funny and I'm fairly certain he was born with twice the amount of teeth as the rest of us. The guy had an epic smile. My group of high school girl friends all had crushes on him (and one of my pals even dated him for a bit, lucky duck!). The fact that he took the time to reach out & say something nice meant a lot. Definitely warm fuzzies.Shortly after our brief but pleasant exchange, I was heartbroken to learn that Eli's Thanksgiving weekend ended with him hospitalized and in a coma after contracting meningitis. On December 11, he passed away. I can't even imagine how difficult the past few weeks have been for his family and friends (I've been thinking of you folks a lot). It's a tragic reminder of the fragility of life, why it's important to live each day to its fullest and tell those around us how much we love them.We lose touch with people all of the time. Even if you think of them regularly, it can feel awkward to reach out (and the longer it's been, the "worse" it feels). I was touched when I read that short and sweet message from an old friend. It put a huge smile on my face. Eli's actions inspired me to do the same.In the next 12 days, I'm committing to reaching out to 12 people I haven't spoken to in a while. It could be a card, an email, a phone call, text or even a simple Facebook message... just a little something to let them know I'm thinking about them (I'll keep y'all posted on how that goes). I hope this story inspires you to do the same.
