in honor of katie

so, an acquaintance passed away unexpectedly on tuesday. she was a good friend of my great friend, julie. i'd hung out with her occasionally at parties or outings through the years.
they are not entirely sure of the cause yet...but regardless...she was 34 and it is really tragic.

i read her obit today in the strib...and the link to the funeral homes site has one in greater detail.
reading this, along with the guest book tributes that her family, colleagues and friends wrote...it is evident she was a great soul that always put other people first.

it seems as if it always takes great tragedies or awful events of other people (whether they are people i know in real life, or people i feel like i know, by following their blogs) to make me realize that life is too short.
we never know when our time on this earth is going to be brought to an end.

it's time to not take people and things for granted. we are healthy. we have the basic necessities in life, and we have the love of our friends and family surrounding us.
i'm sick of sweating the small stuff and getting bent out of shape about things that don't matter. and i would like to strive to be a better person that puts others before myself.
easier said than done. i still snap at dan and griffin for dumb things. i still worry about things that don't really matter, and i still don't treat everyone with the utmost respect that they deserve.
i'm trying though. life is too damn short.

katie: from the little i knew of you...you had an exuberant personality. you were warm and open to people you didn't even know. i remember your great laugh and your awesome "jimmy" story. i've retold that story to a million people.
i am sorry that was all cut way too short. and my heart hurts for your family, friends and for my friend julie that knew you so well.

i will hug my baby a bit tighter, and relish in the little things. i will tell dan i love him more often and show my friends and family how important they are. i also will try to have more patience, tolerance, love and happiness.

on that note...i'm spending the evening celebrating my birthday with good friends and my wonderful husband. and tomorrow i will spend the day spoiling my little bird. and i'll spend a lot of time telling them how awesome they are.