RIP, O Fun One

It's been two days since the news broke and I still don't think I can wrap my thoughts (and words) around this tragedy.

Dr. Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, passed away Friday morning. He was only 47 and leaves behind a beautiful wife and three precious children, all under 10. Randy knew his time was coming, but rather than face it with gloom and doom, he spent every living moment, well, uh, living! He accomplished things he always wanted to do, like have a role in the next Star Trek movie and scrimmage with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He presented his Last Lecture to a group of Carnegie Mellon students and staff. It was so popular on You Tube that it was then turned into a book, which is still on the best seller list. His attitude about his illness (pancreatic cancer) can only be described as positively heroic!

What struck me about Randy was his deep love for his family. When he and his wife were interviewed by Diane Sawyer, the one thing they asked the millions of people watching is that no one tell the children about their daddy's illness. He spent as much time with them as he could. He worked out to stay strong enough to play with them. When the book came out, one of the first things he said was that he only cared about the first three copies. (My hope is that he left each child a little note along with the books.) As late as this past May, we say Randy at the Carnegie Mellon commencement, carrying his wife off the stage after giving his speech.

Randy made millions stop and think: "Am I making the most of everyday?" And more importantly, "Am I making the most of everyday with the people I love?" Will I regret not spending more time with my hubby and boys? Yes. Can I make a conscience effort to fix that? YES!

It is my hope that people will take his message to heart. Now, enough blogging. Time to wrestle with the boys!

Until next time.....