An old friend, school mate, and former hockey teammate of mine passed away earlier this month.

We ran into each other a few weeks before Christmas at our neighborhood grocery store and had a nice chat. That’s how it always is with childhood friends – you can always pick up a new conversation anytime almost like no time had passed since the last one.

He asked me about a recent trip I’d taken to see U2 perform at the Sphere in Las Vegas. I’m a fan, which he knew, and make every effort to see this particular band anytime they’re “close.”

I told him it was a super experience and that the other guys I’d gone with (all of whom he also knew) had as great a time as I did. He seemed genuinely happy about that.

I remarked how fortunate I feel to have been able to make it work. To which he said something like “Important to do things like that while we can.”

I didn’t realize at the time just how meaningful those words would be, coming from him.

We weren’t everyday friends any longer, and hadn’t been for many years, so I didn’t know that he’d been ill.

A month later, he was gone.

It seems that all the time, we’re getting reminders from “somewhere” telling us not to wait, to just do it, to say yes.

Whatever you have on your to-do or bucket list – travel, a visit with an old friend, a career change, or just telling someone “I love you.”

Do it. Don’t wait.

Have a great week!

PS… Rest easy, old friend. You were one of the good ones. Glad to have known you.