#MakeYourDashCount
Somewhere in between one heartbeat and one breath is the difference between life and death.
We all have a special first day – and year – to catalog our birthdate, the day we are born to the Earth. It is our very own day to celebrate our debut with a cry out loud, as if to shout our soul’s entrance to the rest of the world. And so it begins.
One little dash.
Still, we die. Our last day to breathe one last breath and offer one last heartbeat of love as we peacefully depart this place, the here and now…cashing in on Hope for everlasting life. And so it ends.
There is also a middle. The dash! Ironically, it seems so small and almost fragile overshadowed in between two dates, placed to pinpoint one life well lived. Our passions, our contributions, and Soul purpose for living this life… forms in this little mark and…ultimately, matters most to us while we’re here.
It represents life worth living.
Yet in the end, this small dash that represents life worth living often gets the least amount of attention until it’s put to rest – in position to punctuate a past. One lifetime ago.
So, meantime, while living your lifetime in the middle of fate, between two dates, be sure to #MakeYourDashCount.
After all… you count!
“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
Robert Breault
One Small Dash, One Great Lifetime.
In an instant, my whole world would shatter.
I can’t even begin to comprehend the words. In an instant, I’m put into survival mode…and to be honest, I have been ever since.
As a flight attendant, that’s what we’re trained to do. Physically act, then emotionally react at a later date. What started out as just another day turned into my worst nightmare. In one final heartbeat, one final breath!
Jim: There’s been an episode on the ice!
Me: Where is he? Is he ok?
Jim: No. He’s…dead!
Wait! This can’t be real. Dead!? No!!! Not my beloved spouse! My husband! My rock! My go to guy! My best friend! My life!
Standing by the nightstand between two queen sized beds in a hotel room in Hartford Connecticut, I answer that call, gripping my cell phone, as to not miss one beat of the words I was hearing. Surrounded by white walls, white sheets, white ceiling in a hotel room, of all places, on a layover, far from my husband, I replay the words that would forever alter my reality. “No. He’s dead.”
Me: Are you sure?
Jim: Yes…I’m sure. I’m so sorry.
Me: (In sheer shock)….No…This can’t be! What… happened?
Like Humpty Dumpty, he sat on a wall. Like Humpty Dumpty, he had a great fall. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put my sweetest husband back together again.
On January 21, 2018, Dean Carleton Blixt Jr was gone…just like that.
No warning, no goodbye, no closure. Just gone, off the face of the earth while officiating as a referee for a USA Hockey game in Phoenix Arizona. Something he had done what seems like several times a week for more than 25 years. He loved the sport. He was on skates since age three thanks to his mom who liked to figure skate.
Dean, known as DJ to his family, played high school and men’s college hockey and pursued his passion as a USA Hockey Official/Referee after graduation. Though not without some battle wounds it was a hobby and sport that kept him out of trouble and in pretty good shape over his years.
That is until that day, the general manager of the Peoria Ice Arena returned my call after he and the police had been trying to reach me all day to tell of the horrific news. Dean apparently stopped the game due to a leg cramp, went to the penalty box, sat down and went down from there.
Other officials and staff immediately tried CPR, the AED, and even EMT’s rushing him to the hospital where an ER Physician and his team of 10, still couldn’t…in my words…put Humpty together again.
Wait! What? My thoughts race to compare a nursery rhyme…that offers no rhyme…or reason…or meaning for that matter… as to why? For until I would further pursue the destructive details, I remain at a complete loss of understanding why nothing worked to be able to put Dean back together again and bring him home where he belongs.
Just like any other day.
Journey with me!
Let’s explore different ways of living life to the fullest.
Seventh Heaven
~ Lucky number Seven ~ somehow has a way of sounding like every little thing... is going to be alright, doesn't it? But I do believe luck has nothing to do with the outcome of 7 years without you, Dean Blixt. ~ In all it's irony, as much as I miss you, I would never,...
You are my Sunshine ~ My only Sunshine!🦜
You are my Sunshine~ My only Sunshine! Heavenly flight takes place at night~ just before the dawn. One final kiss, in loves pure light and next thing you are gone. 28 years ....in human hands. A choice you did not make. Your true self lives in spirit flight Go soar...
Go to the Light, Mario!
They are all waiting for you there, my sweetest Mario LeMeow ~ I will love and miss you all the days of my life! My Mr. Mario~ Full of black, you did not lack. Your luster, pure as gold. Full of grace, your beautiful face. It's time to let you go. *20 years reduced to...
Hi! I’m Linda.
Walk along with me through my journey to inspire a wave of wonder, full of life well lived.
In my quest to endure this unexpected trial of life – through grief and death – it is my hope for each of us to better understand our purpose this side of heaven. I hope you will join me on the path. It’s evident we each bear our own individual cross traveling through the universe. I’ve come to realize our pinnacle life goal is to serve our time, talent and treasure in all ways – always!