A few weeks ago, I learned that one of my favorite uncles passed away in his sleep. He was only 66 years old, and to say I was shocked is a complete understatement.

I hadn’t seen him since our most recent family Fakesgiving that took place in 2019. Due to COVID and everyone’s lives being busy, we haven’t been able to see my mom’s side of the family since then. We live in Minnesota and they’re scattered across the South, so getting everyone’s families together isn’t the easiest of feats.

I don’t know about you, but when someone you love dies, you start to think back to all your favorite memories. The older I get, the harder I want to hold onto them. And what better way than to write them down?

I can vividly remember time spent at his trailer in Helen, Georgia. He’d built an outdoor shower, which I thought was the coolest thing ever until I saw spiders out there. That trailer holds so many memories not just with my uncle, but with my Mimi as well.

One time, he took me and my family out on his pontoon on Lake Lanier. He loved to fish, and I enjoyed it, too. I must have been seven or eight, and I remember him having me cast out so I could troll behind the boat. He kept telling me to let the line out…let the line out…let the line out. And then we got to the end of the line and lost it. I guess it wasn’t tied well to the reel. And since that was the only rod we had, no fishing that day. I remember that so well and it still brings a smile to my face.

There are so many memories to choose from, but I’m going to hold those in my heart.

Several weeks ago, Blake and I were traveling home from the cabin and he asked me, “What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?“

That was easy. It was the advice my uncle had given me back in 2016 after I’d gone through a traumatic breakup. It’s something I’ve kept with me every single day, and it truly changed my life.

He’d told me, ”You now have an open lease on life. Make the most of it.“

I can’t even begin to tell you how that advice impacted my life. It gave me the courage to be adventurous and try new things. It gave me the motivation to do the things I’d been thinking about for years. Because it was true. I had a new lease on life, and I wasn’t going to waste it.

I don’t know if he was aware of the incredible impact his advice made on my life. It’s been in the back of my mind for the last seven years, and it will continue to guide me for the rest of my life.

Every day you wake up, you get an open lease on life. Make the most of it.