When the good die young it tends to put life into perspective. Fighting with your spouse, yelling at the kids, not taking time for yourself, all for what?

When The Good Die Young It Puts Life Into Perspective

When the good die young it tends to put life into perspective. Fighting with your spouse, yelling at the kids, not taking time for yourself, all for what? You love your spouse, you love your kids, and you most definitely should be loving yourself. So why spend so much energy on so much negative?

When the good die young it tends to put life into perspective. Fighting with your spouse, yelling at the kids, not taking time for yourself, all for what?

When The Good Die Young

I heard today that a rep I’ve worked with, Julie from Tractenberg & Co. PR, recently passed away (her family has set up a Go Fund Me page to help with expenses). She was 33 years old. Just 3 years younger than I. Not yet married (she was engaged), no children yet, nothing to tie her down, Julie was enjoying life. She got to travel, meet people, attend events and entertain some of the craziest bloggers, myself included. I met Julie a year or two ago when Mommy Mafia shared an invite to an Avon event happening in Miami. Julie extended the invite to me without hesitation.

The event was darling, Julie and her partner Rocio were super sweet. A few weeks later a box arrived filled with Avon goodies and I was officially dubbed an #AvonInsider. Julie sent me some “Luck” and I remember her each time I put it on. Time passed, emails exchanged, invites extended. The last invite, actually 2, were for events happening over the summer for more of her clients, John Freida, Jergens and Sol De Janeiro. I had to decline because I was going to be out-of-town attending BlogHer 2016 in NYC. And then another event this past February for John Freida again, Julie reserved a seat for me – but according to our emails I declined due to a prior engagement. I have no idea now what that other thing I was doing was, but I really hope it was worth not seeing Julie one last time. I hope I was spending time with my family, enjoying my loved ones or even just taking the night off for some “me” time.

I’ve learned a lot about self-care in the last couple of years, but I don’t practice it enough. Hearing about Julie’s death today put a lot of things into perspective. My children, my husband, my friends…what if they or I weren’t given tomorrow???!!! Would I be okay knowing I had given them my all…Would I be satisfied with myself and where I am in life???!!! What are the things I feel need to be done, to better myself, my family, my life, my world. When the good die young they don’t have the chance to redo what they missed out on. Make time for yourself and the people you care about.

I have children to raise, to watch grow, to see blossom…to marry off and to hold grand-babies. I want to be here to see it all, to live it all, to experience it all. It’s time to really put life into perspective, kiss the ones you love, hug the ones you’ve missed and say I Love You every chance you get, for tomorrow is not promised. If you’re gonna get caught up in the hustle of life, then hustle hard and make it worth every moment. I made a promise this year to myself to work smarter, not harder – finding this picture of Julie with HUSTLE HARD in the background just renewed my promise to myself. Thank you Julie for the reminder to make it all worth it.

Mama E

Multitasking mama to 3 living in Miami. Blogging about parenting, lifestyle, cooking and traveling. Covering everything from diapers to dorm rooms. Ask me anything, I've done it all.

Comments (17)

  • Thank you for sharing Erica and keep at it! We owe it to ourselves and those we love to make the world (and ourselves) a better version of today. XoXo

    Reply
    • Mama E

      Yes! And we are WAY overdue for lunch!!!

      Reply
  • Beautiful words!

    Reply
    • Mama E

      Thank you! Love and tears went into them.

      Reply
  • So so true!! We often lose ourselves in the negative, in the drama and in the sadness without realizing that life is way too short!! I mean we only get one shot at this and one chance at this day!! We shouldn’t waste it!!

    Reply
    • Mama E

      It’s so easy to get caught up, we must remind ourselves that life is worth so much more!

      Reply
  • This is so incredibly on point… having come back from a near death situation back in 2010… this is a stark reminder in the event I have forgotten how close I was. Make it count… every day.

    Reply
    • Mama E

      EVERY DAY! Hugs to you, and so happy you did make it!

      Reply
  • It is so hard to lose a loved one, especially when they are so young. I lost a son at twenty five and it is not easy. We never know when God will take us home. We need to make each day count and let your loved ones know every day how much you love them. Thank you for this great article. God Bless

    Reply
  • I think this concept became real to me when my brother, who was the type who never was sick a day in his life, one day didn’t feel good. Then he decided to drive himself to the hospital and died of a heart attack on the way, leaving his wife and a young child. We assume that we and people we care about will live a long life. We never know what will happen in any day, like you say, make the most of each day that you have.

    Reply
  • A friend of mine from school died a few years ago in an accident. He and his lady were having a child and he was so happy about their future. It goes to show that you never know what will happen in this life. That situation taught me not to take life or friends and family for granted, and live life to the fullest. 🙂

    Reply
  • Thank you for such beautiful insight. Just this week a principal in our school district died while working out. I have known him since he started training to be a principal and worked at different schools that my kids attended. The nicest person and so friendly and dedicated to the students in our district. He will be missed. Pat S

    Reply
    • Mama E

      So sorry for your loss. Such a tragedy to lose great mentors.

      Reply
  • Death is a hard part of life to deal with.Feel for all involved!So sorry for her untimely death.

    Reply
  • So sad. I already feel the drama in my life slipping away as I read this post! Thanks for sharing this great reminder.

    Reply
  • So sorry to hear of the loss. A friend of mine was shot and killed last Oct. … over a GIRL! Seriously?! Some guy (everyone suspects the chick’s ex boyfriend) shot my friend who was only 25 years old several times out front of his house. I’ve lost quite a few friends over the years to ignorance, but also to natural causes as well. It’s so sad and reading the local news (we live in the city), it’s kind o frightening. I’m afraid to read the next article, what if it’s someone else I know? What if it’s someone REALLY close to me? Etc. What if my name is in there next, not because I purposely get myself mixed up in bad situations, but stray bullets are responsible for a LOT of the murders here, poor kids getting shot while in the “safety” of their own homes and such. May Julie’s family find peace.

    Reply
  • You ain’t just whislin’ La Guantanamera con este mujer. Beautiful post for a lovely lady. BB2U

    Reply

Write a comment