it’s amazing how in an instance, a blink of an eye, your entire life as you know it can suddenly change; sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst. this past week there were quite a bit of deaths around, mostly older people who had fully lived their lives. there was one in particular though that was not an older person, it was one of my student’s fathers, he was a community member and the partner of one of the vendors at my school. earlier this week we learned he had been taken to the hospital because he was feeling out of the ordinary. the vendor at my school, said it was nothing and he was going to be fine. it was not until later i learned it was regular for him to be in and out of the hospital, he had other medical issues and was always going in for routine check-ups. but for some reason, that day, their daughter, a precocious five year old girl, who had just entered grade one this year, was very distraught. she kept asking for her daddy, demanding to see him, asking how he was and how he looked. she cried uncontrollably for most of the day. it seemed so odd to everyone, but mostly her mother. at lunchtime her mother headed out to make a visit to the hospital. miss palmer, the grade one teacher, tried to console the little girl as best she could. as school came to an end that day we got a call saying he had passed so randomly and out of the blue. it was then that all of the earlier events started to seem bone-chilling. never before had this little girl cried so for her father, of all the times he had been in and out of the hospital. it was all so tragic. this sweet, innocent little girl, who loved her father so, had to lose him just like that, when all she wanted was to see him. tragedy comes when you least expect it and that’s why it’s a tragedy, you’re never prepared. so all i can say is remember to live every moment. don’t store away your joy, happiness and cares to live and experience later on in life… live and experience them now, today. tell the people you love how you feel about them. don’t wait because sometimes that time you have dreamed about living out never comes.