525,600 minutes

Aside from being part of an earworm of a song (Seasons of Love) that has captivated my daughter as of late, this phrase is the perfect one to help me through today. A year ago today, our father passed away. So, in line with the song, how would measure this “year in a life” – it would be through memories and tears.

There have been those moments where something reminded me of him, or I would hear something that I know would have made him happy. The urge to call him came with moments of breathlessness and often some tears. Although that sounds sad, it really is not. I try to think of it from a different perspective – how lucky am I to have loved my father so much that I miss him that dearly. To know that type of love, is a gift.

In speaking with a friend last night, she talked about how we, as a society, should start to normalize death. Maybe it is because of my age, or the loss I have experienced, but I agreed wholeheartedly with her. That is why I was motivated to write today. I think we have to talk more about the pain of losing a loved one. What is that phrase “it is ok, not to be ok all the time”. It has to be something that we learn to understand and accept. Accepting death can also serve as our motivation to live life for today.

If you look up the meaning of 525,600, which is something you do with a young curious child, you will see that it has become synonymous with taking advantage of every moment of every day and to remember that time is not infinite. You only get one time around, one body, one mind, and one soul. Be good to all of them. Feed and nurture all of them as you move through this world.