Life Lessons from an Angel

Wow. Where to even start. This past month or so has been an absolute whirlwind and I feel like I am finally just getting my feet on the ground…

January started off well, with a trip to California to see my family after the holidays. We hadn’t been to California since August when we met some family in Lake Tahoe, so I hadn’t been HOME since the previous Easter. It felt like it had been so long. It was so wonderful to see my family and friends, and Arabella had a blast.

The following week I spent coming out of the holiday haze and putting away Christmas, with the the third one actually getting organized and having a normal week. John had to travel some that week, but I felt like after that week, I was really going to be able to get back into writing and a bit of a routine….until it wasn’t.

Monday, January 23rd around 10:30am, we found out that one of our best friends was in the hospital in Columbia, SC with a stroke. It didn’t sound good, so by 2pm I had packed us all up to head there. Late that afternoon, we found that the entire left side of his brain had lost blood flow during the stroke. The following days were spent at the hospital, trying to wrap our heads around everything, and saying goodbye to one of the most amazing people you would have ever met. He passed January 25th at 7:15pm.

After his passing we came home in a haze.

The funeral was held this past Friday, February 3rd where we celebrated his life and his legacy. Through his passing, he was able to save multiple other people’ lives through organ donation. I say this more for my own record than anything else. He was one of my husband’s best friend’s and life has definitely seemed a bit harder since he left.

My mom said the best thing though, that I have shared with anyone who will listen and that was that “God sent an angel when Ian was born, and it just happened to be the time that He was calling him back.” I think that is so true for Ian. He was a best friend to so many and truly looked at the world in such a beautiful and positive way.

He taught us so much on to live life, so today, I thought I would share some lessons about life that we learned from Ian….

1. Never miss out on spending time with a best friend and when you are together, really soak it in. You never know when it might be the last
2. Life doesn’t have to be so complicated. You really just need some good music (preferably Hootie and the Blowfish) and some cheap beer
3. Laughter is life’s best medicine
4. There is friend potential in every person you meet
5. You must always finish your drink when hearing Darius Rucker
6. Don’t be so negative towards the world. There is good in everything around you.
7. Treat everyone with kindness and respect, even those you don’t care for
8. If you think of someone, text or call them
9. Be proud to be an American
10. Never take a day for granted. You were given another day, so cherish it and be grateful for it

I am sure there are so many more he, and those that loved him, could add to this list, but this is what he taught me and I will always be grateful for that.

*I dedicate this post to Ian Roof. We miss and love you you so much. Thank you for giving me some of my best memories. Give Jessi some pets for me.

xoxo,

Melissa