My generation is dying off in greater numbers these days. That’s something I hadn’t considered until now. I guess I was too busy living my life.

But then I was brought up short when I lost three first cousins in just the past year. A pattern I couldn’t escape. Add to that the death of our cultural icons, which I wrote about here, and, well, there it is. Right in front of us. Mortality.

Death is inevitable, and as my sister said the other day, it always feels too soon.

Always.

Reality bites.

Plus, it’s right there, front and center of our lives, a reality that we didn’t have to face as often when we were younger. And by younger I mean even in our 60s.

Oh, sure, people in our lives passed when we were younger. But not in these numbers.  So our own mortality moves to the top of our minds.

Do you feel it, too?

That’s why it’s so important to live every moment fully. To do the things you want to do. To feel the love that’s right there in front of us.

There’s no time to worry about old resentments and grudges. Only time to spend with each other doing the things that make us happy.

Some lessons are hard.

I remember when my late ex-husband lost his 20-year-old daughter to a car accident many years ago.

“We were very current with each other,” he told me. By that he meant that they had said to each other all the things they needed to and each knew that they were loved.

That’s a phrase I think about a lot these days. I want to make sure I am current with everyone I care about. I want to enjoy my loved ones to the fullest.  I don’t want to hold resentments. I want to acknowledge the good in each one of them.

How current are you with those you love?