Same drive, different view

Today, I left my house early to get to work at 6:30 (that's right, a.m.) so I could look over everything with the magazine before it got uploaded to the printer.  No one is usually at work at that time so I don't have to worry about being asked a million questions and can focus on my task at hand.  However, I came my down my normal route to work this morning and it's usually the same view.  Today, I got a different view. 

While traveling down 23rd Ave., I passed the same cemetery that I do every week day morning.  But something caught my eye this morning.  An elderly man was sitting next to a headstone and it was obvious he was crying.  Something about that struck a chord with me.  Was the person he was crying over his wife, mother or child?  How did they die?  Was it a sudden death, a long battle of cancer, lost or did they live to be 80 and have live a wonderful life?  How long had it been since that person was buried?  A month, a year, 10 years or even 25 years? 

I haven't lost a parent, sibling or significant other and I hope it's a lifetime before I ever do.  I know that no one is ever ready to lose someone close and I dread the day that I have to deal with that.  But it did get me thinking.  If it was me that was gone, would anyone miss me?  What will they remember about me?  Will I just be a page in someone's journal or will my life have made an impact on others?  

Seeing that today made me stop and realize that this is my life and it's the only one I've got.  So I'm going to make it count, make a difference in someone's life and hopefully when it is my time to go - I will be more than just a page in someone's journal... I'll be a part of someone's life.