Last Words

Tonight while making dinner, I had "How I Met Your Mother" on. I like having the noise in the background...or else I watch my pots try to boil. :)

It was the episode for Marshall's dad's funeral. The pastor that was to perform the ceremony left everything in his son's hands (Marshall's former bully), and the question is posed about the last words that his dad said. After several memories of the last words, and a pocket dial, Marshall settled on what he would share as the last words from his dad.

Every time I see this episode, it gets me thinking about what the last words would be from my parents, or my last words to T.

That brings me to a rule that I grew up with in my house. No matter what, even if you're so angry you can't speak, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS say I love you before you leave the house or hang up the phone. If you follow that rule, you never have to worry if something should happen, you'll never have a regret about saying something mean as the last words.

I'm not sure how long before this started, but the event in my life that solidified the rule in my head (and carried over into my relationships with boyfriends and even friends) was the car accident my sister and I were in when I was 8. We had just moved from the city to the country and she'd brought a friend home after school (we were finishing the year at our old school) and she'd only had her license for a month. On the way back into town to drop her friend off at home, she lost control of the vehicle and we slammed into a tree. She shouldn't have survived (thank Heaven she did), and took a lot of rehab. I had surgery, and have had some issues ever since. Scared that I almost lost my sister, I tell my loved ones I love you every time I leave the house or end a call.

Is there a rule like this that your family follows?