No Regrets

It has been two years since my friend G passed away and one of our lasts conversations has nagged at me since her death. She had been planning a girls get away to see Brittany Spears in Los Angeles and she wanted me to come. It was bound to be a great, glamorous time because you see my friend G was the epitome of fun and glamour-a pro athletes wife and ex model who could light up any room she entered. I told her I couldn't go, giving the argument that if it was Madonna I would do it but not Brittany. We argued about Brittany's talent or the lack there of. The conversation ended with her getting the last words in "I knew you wouldn't go. You always put your family first." She meant it as a jab, disappointed that I was turning her down. I always regretted this choice because it would have given me some irreplaceable last moments with her. Until today that is.
This morning I picked up the Sunday Arizona Republic and was drawn in by a story titled "The Hardest Choice", actually, I was more drawn in by the photo of a beautiful, blue eyed little girl sitting on her fathers lap, looking at the camera with a tiny smile on her face. The little girl was Sophie and the story was about her battle with cancer most of her short 5 years of life. She had endured too many surgeries for such a small child and chemo treatments that ended up doing more harm than good. The part of the story that resonated with me was her parents reality-that every day with Sophie was a gift and the choice to be any where else but with her for the short duration of her life was no choice at all. Sophie's mom Carrie even skipped much needed dental surgery caused by an infection because 3 hours was too much time away from Sophie. And this makes complete sense to me.
I am too superstitious to talk about how fortunate I am. I am well aware that there are no guarantees for tomorrow or even this afternoon. And one thing I know for sure is that I will never regret the times I said no to a night out with my friends opting instead for microwave popcorn and a game of scrabble with my family. So G you were right I will always put my family first for as long as I can. If this makes me a flakey friend, well, I am ok with that.

For Sophies story in the AZ. Republic:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/06/26/20110626sophie-farinella-cancer-part1.html