Wanting more...

I can't say that I like some of the ramifications of this age of immediate information that we have joined with such great enthusiasm. On one hand, it is wonderful to keep up with what friends and acquaintances are doing on a social networking site such as Facebook. On the other hand, some information does not need to be disclosed over such a medium.
On Saturday morning, I found out that one of my best friends from high school, Stephanie, had died the night before. I discovered this by reading some very benedictory messages on the "wall" of her Facebook profile, and then emailing a mutual friend to find out what happened and if it was true. She did exactly the right thing-emailing me and then talking to me on the phone. Some things don't need to be done via the Internet.
It struck me, again, that I am left wanting more from Stephanie. We had talked about getting coffee soon, and catching up, and it just hurts to know that isn't going to happen. This is not an uncommon thing...When Andrea died, I felt like someone had ripped out my heart, but was thankful that I had seen her prior to that and that we had made some amends to the argument we were having. But I was left wanting more.
The same is true for Dr. Mabery...his plane crashed as I was driving back to Dallas to meet him for lunch. I was left wanting more and couldn't believe that he was really gone. Or even just stopping by Mary's house to say hi, not knowing she was dead inside.
I think you know where I'm going with this...Yes, when those we love and care for are taken from us, it would be idiotic to think that we wouldn't want more. But, I think the lesson here is to make the most of what we've got now, so we're not left regretting that we didn't make time to get coffee.
I suppose I could have just written "Life is short, enjoy those around you" but I'd rather do things the hard way...Goodbye Stephanie, I wish we had been able to get coffee...