You don't have a thousand years

We hear this from stage quite often, and it's on several CDs.  You don't have a thousand years.  Well, I know that.  Everyone knows that, right?  But that's when you take it literally.  Take it by the spirit of the meaning, and it's a bit different.  For example, if you don't have a thousand years, how long DO you have?  Well, none of us know, not really.

A great woman passed away today.  She shouldn't have.  She was young (mid thirties), had four children, a wonderful husband, and a life that many of us yearn for.  We saw her on stage two weeks ago at a major in Columbus.  She and her husband flew out to California to speak, then all the way across the country to speak the next day in Columbus.  Wow.  There she was, just being her.  She was sparkly, and energetic, and having fun, and......alive.

A few days ago the news came out that she was in a major health crisis.  Further details were released (obviously not all of them), and it turns out that she had been travelling to Puerto Rico a few weeks ago.  They "suspect" insect bites from that trip, but that is the extent of the reference. (The quotes around the word "suspect" are from her update blog, not mine.)   If that's the case, she already had whatever was in her body when we saw her speak.

She went to the ER with "flu-like" symptoms.  Within 36 hours she was in ICU with organ issues, fluid in her lungs (causing respiratory issues), and high fever.  Within another 36 hours she was on machines for her life, with swelling on her brain that they couldn't control.  This morning she passed away.  Five days.  Five freaking days, from feeling like it was the flu, to having her husband needing to plan a funeral, and her four children trying to figure out what to do (that's an assumption, but I figure it's a pretty safe one).  All of their children are pre-teen.  They have a massive support system to fall back on, in friends, family, and mentors.  But in the end, she's gone.

Five days to take a young, energetic, vibrant, beautiful, smart, funny lady away.  Five days.  No, we don't have a thousand years.  Most of us don't have a hundred years.  But how many of us know how many days we have?

Live Life.

RIP Jackie Lewis.  You were beautiful inside and out, and I treasure the memory of meeting you and Bill at a Major last year.  You have touched many lives in your short life, and your legacy will go on.  You will be missed.