Stopping. Frequently. Can. Be. Annoying.

I'm a calendar girl. My entire work day revolves around my Outlook calendar -- and I rarely make exceptions. However, this week was different. To make a long story short, I rearranged an entire day to accommodate one of our rural city officials -- and then she canceled. In a parallel time line, a friend called to ask me to stop by the funeral of a young man who found little peace in this world. You guessed it, the funeral was at the exact time of the canceled meeting. I went. How could I not, the very universe was ordered around this event. I did all the usual funeral rituals: sit in the back, speak kindly and and gently to the family, sign the guest book and return to work. The funeral home was packed with sobbing young people. Together they were comforted and together they were devastated.
Fast forward a few hours and I took my mother and two of my favorite people to the nicest restaurant in town. The couple dining with me are in their early 80s, sarcastic, irreverent, curious, and fully alive- for they embody peace. Together, we ate too decadently, chatted too loudly, and laughed until we hurt.
A young man's funeral and an elderly couple's celebration remind me to soak up life, live big, love more, and unschedule some time for chance encounters.