No Regrets•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
We don’t know how long we’ll be blessed
with someone’s presence and where our
paths may lead. I’ve come to believe that
losing someone you love ranks near the
top of “Life’s Hardest Obstacles” list. In my
twenties, I was focused more on making
something of myself and providing a
decent life for my son than taking the time
to spend with my parents. Reality suckerpunched me in the gut at the age of twentyfour when my dad suddenly passed away
from a heart attack. No warning. Just…
gone. Not even one more day with him.
More than a dozen years later and I
can still hear Mom’s frantic phone call
from that night. Dad had collapsed in the
kitchen and she performed CPR on him
until medical personnel came to take him
by ambulance to the hospital. I hung up the
phone and bawled, begged and pleaded,
“Oh dear God, please don’t take my dad.
Please, please, please don’t take my dad.
I’m so sorry for everything I’ve ever done.
Just please don’t take my dad.” It didn’t
work, Dad was already gone. God’s plan
was already in place, something far too
Julie Eickhoff as a young girl with her dad Don Schwarz.
complicated for me to understand.
Even after several years have passed
the pain still stings. Those who have gone
through it understand the void a loss like
that leaves behind. I remember his hugs.
Though he didn’t look like the kind of
man that looked like he hugged and said “I
love you,” fortunately he was. Those were
the best hugs and though I thought every
one of them was silly at the time, I’d give
anything now for just one more.
If there’s one positive thing that came
out of his passing, it’s a lesson in living
in the moment. Smile. Hug. Be grateful
for every single minute. Say “I love you”
and mean it. Make love contagious. Let
your guard down a little, open yourself up
to doing things from the heart. With so
much coldness in the world, let your heart
provide the warmth around you. I know it’s
cliché, but what if tomorrow really doesn’t
come? We can’t be certain that it will. Live
and love with no regrets. I love you, my
friends. Pass it on. xoxo
vBy Julie Eickhoff
HERVOICEvJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017v5