7 Minutes in Heaven

There is a song by the Title of: 7 Minutes in Heaven, by Reba McIntyre. It is beautiful, it talks about if she had 7 minutes in heaven, that she would spend it with her mom.

And that got me thinking, if you could have 7 more minutes with someone in your life, what would you say? Would you tell them that you love them, probably. Would you fill them in on how things are or how much you miss them? I feel like those are the obvious things that we would say, I love you, I miss you. That seems normal. What else would you say? I realized I would tell them that I didn’t realize them not being here every day would leave such a hole in my life and in my heart that no one else could ever fill.  That I am so glad and grateful for the time that we had together, and that when I see something that reminds me of them, I stop, and think, they would have loved this.  I try to keep your traditions for Holidays, going, and when I decorate, I make sure the stuff you gave me is set out. It makes it a little easier to have them out, because I miss you a little less. I have decided to keep my hair long, like Grandma did. I still hate the cold, and I dream of living in a warmer place often. I still read a lot of books and oh our favorite author has a new book coming out soon. So many things that I want to tell you and fill you in on. 

I would tell them, I am trying each day to be brave like you taught me to be, but it is hard, because they are no longer here to protect me from the things that scare me or encourage me when I am trying something new, knowing that I dislike the unknown. I would want to tell them so many things, like, I still hang out with Dad on Sundays and yes, I make him watch the Vikings games with me, that I built my butterfly garden finally, and I started a new flower bed, and that I am growing Cala Lily’s every summer. I got a new dog, his name is Max, he is a beast and Lily is still the sweetest dog you will ever meet. Tuna is amazing huntress, I miss Lucy and Maggie, and would you please take care of them for me? Band is great, I finally got a piccolo, and I joined the choir at Church. But you know all that, I know that. I would want to know, how are Grandma and Grandpa? How are your brothers? Do the ladies all still get together? Tell them hi. Did Trixie meet you when you got to heaven? I bet she was the happiest dog there. Did Taffy find you? She loved her kitty Grandma so much. Please give them all hugs from me and tell them that I love them. I wish I could hug them all one more time and tell them myself, that I love them. I am wished that I had told them more when they were here. And please tell Grandpa, that I look forward to meeting him one day, and tell Trixie that she was best dog to grow up with. And, and, and…

So many things that we want to share, so many updates that we want to give them, but really, they know those updates, because they walk beside us each day, even though we cannot see them and a lot of times we cannot even feel them, they are there, they are giving us strength to be brave, to venture out of our comfort zone. They are wiping the tears that we shed because we miss them more than words can ever say. They are the angels among us, they are with us every day. But what would you do with those 7 minutes, I would just sit with them, and talk like we used to, and when my time was up, I would tell them that I loved them and thank them for loving me and tell that I will come back as soon as I can get another 7 minutes with them, because I would not miss the opportunity to spend another 7 minutes with them.

As always,

Juli