Life is Beautiful

Yesterday, Sam and I learned that our dear friend, Kevin, passed away after a three-year battle with cancer. The news was a shock and slow to sink in, although when we saw him last month at our beach house in Oceanside, we knew it would probably be the last.

We first met Kevin at a job fair in New York. Somehow Sam convinced Kevin to hire Sam as a physics teacher at ISP, therefore making our two years living in Prague a life-changing reality. Our lives were blessed with incredible friendships, memories, and travel experiences during that time. Kevin was the best principal Sam had ever worked for, and one that Sam shared much in common with. He was an incredible leader and knew how to bring out the best in those around him, be they students, parents, or colleagues. He was also a true friend, with whom we shared our homes, meals and travels to beautiful places. Kevin loved basketball and loved to sing. It was probably his sparkling smile and mischievous eyes that made all who knew him instantly love him.

When someone you cherish dies too soon, it makes no sense. Kevin was only 57. My aunt Norma died quickly at age 60 from an aggressive form of breast cancer three years ago. These were incredible people that were a privilege to have known. It makes you wonder why things happen the way they do. Why do good, honest people get sick, while mean criminals live long ugly lives? The world is not a better place with them gone, although I am a better person for having known them.

Yet somehow, through all the confusion and sadness, you realize that life is such a beautiful thing. There are so many ways we are blessed, even though we rarely take the time to count these blessings. Like the dishes and laundry that never seem to end....those are a blessing because it means I have a family to care for. Or watching someone in your family struggle through a personal crisis....it is a blessing because it means they can lean on you for support, and you on them when times are tough. Or the people who will pass on during your lifetime....they are a blessing because it means you loved and were loved by them.

So today, I'm thinking a lot about Kevin, or "Special K" as a friend nicknamed him. I'm thinking about all our mutual friends who are grieving and reminiscing and missing him. I'm also thinking about how I want to spend the remainder of my life. No one knows how long we really have, who will be there along the way, or how things will ultimately end. Every day we make the choice (or don't make any choice) about how we will spend that day, week, month, or year...who will be there, who won't, where we will be, and what we will do. So I am going to try and see the beauty in life - the beauty that comes with joy, love, passion, change, fear and pain. It's all beautiful, and it's all part of life. How we will remember Kevin.......this was a catamaran cruise we took with him, his son Tarek, and his wife Lori, while we traveled with them in Barbados in 2004.