Death

[embed]https://twitter.com/JasonRomano/status/293883503811117056[/embed]Death sucks.Dying has always been something I think about. I'm not obsessed with it but I think about it quite often.  When I was growing up, I never really experienced the loss of someone close to me. We had distant family members pass and a tragic accident of a 4th grade classmate dying, but I think I was too young to understand grief. Throughout my teen years and into my early 20's, I was blessed with a life that didn't have any death in it. It wasn't until I was 25 years old that I attended my first funeral and that was for an uncle that had passed on my wife's side of the family.  I had always felt bad for other people who were going through difficult times but I never truly understood that sadness.In November of 2007, death finally happened to me. I lost the greatest man I've ever known, my grandfather, George Romano. When I got that call that he had passed, I didn't believe it. Even though he was 83, it was a shock to all of us that he had died and for the first time in my 34 years of life, I had lost a very close family member. That was hard. I experienced every emotion you could imagine. Shock, guilt, sadness, anger, acceptance, and even joy. Joy that he had lived a full life and left an amazing legacy on everyone he met. I have so many fond memories of Pa and the times we spent with him. He invested into my life and I'm forever grateful for that. I wish that I could have told him how much he meant to me just one more time before he died. I miss him everyday.Losing my grandfather really hit me hard and had me thinking about death.  It's such a hard topic to talk about and for so many, such a difficult word to hear. I remember thinking that death was for other people. It was something old people had to deal with. Not me. And then I see my friend Hank get brain cancer just before his 49th birthday. I watched Hank battle. I watched him fight. I watched how he loved his family during the most difficult time possible. Sadly, Hank succumbed to cancer and died just after his 50th birthday.  He left behind his wife and 2 teenage children. It wasn't fair. And yet, instead of dying, Hank lived. He lived for his faith in Christ, he lived for his wife and boys, and he lived for his friends. Hank loved his family and friends so much. He loved life and left an amazing legacy behind.Life is so precious. I think about how short our time on earth really is. It's made me appreciate everything around me even more. My time with my wife, my daughter, my family, my friends, my church family, my job.  It's made me understand how important it is to love each other and not take anything for granted.Death has also made me think about my legacy. How do I want to be remembered? I hope that I will be remembered as someone who loved God first. Someone who loved his wife and daughter with all his heart. Someone who gave more than he took, and someone who put others before himself. Mostly, I hope that my life on this earth would be a reflection of Jesus. Brad, a friend of mine said it well -- "Am I living today in a way that I will be proud of when I die and can my kids and wife look up to it?"Recently our colleague at work Stuart Scott passed away after fighting cancer for the past 7 years. There were so many wonderful tributes and messages and tweets about his life. He left an amazing legacy and impact on so many that knew him.  The stories people told about him were amazing. Many people though said they wished Stuart were alive to see the outpouring of love and support across the country that he was getting. What I would say to you is -- don't wait until the person is gone to share a story, or tell the world how much you loved them. Share it now. Tell them now. Show them NOW.