What would you do if...

If I knew that I were dying tomorrow, I would wake up & get moving, as there are lots of things to do & obviously not much time to do it in.
 
First, I would give the dogs all of the things that they love best. Serious Frisbee action for Bevo, lap time for Chyna, soccer for Shooter, ball for Schatzi, time in the pasture playing with her sheep for Brinxx, & a nice long hike for Shelby.
 
I would go visit my family members one last time, so that I could die with a fresh picture of everyone in my mind#%92s eye. I would thank them for loving me unconditionally & helping me to become the person that I am today. As I was ready to leave from my visit with them, I would make it a point to tell each & every one of my family members that I loved them.
 
After seeing my family, I would start calling my friends. Since we are scattered across the country, it wouldn#%92t see feasible to get to see them all, but I would want to hear their voices one more time. Again, I would thank them for always being there for me, & helping me through the tough times in my life. I would let them know that even during the worst times in my life , they were the reason that I couldn#%92t be truly unhappy. They have supported me that much.
 
After all of the goodbyes were said, I want to go base jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. While it is illegal & very dangerous, it is an adrenaline rush that I have always wanted the opportunity to experience. If I survived the base jump, I would fly back home to spend my last night alive with my dogs.
 
Thanks Candace for this thread! I have been crying all the way through this & now I have to re-apply my make up before going out for the day.

not sure all this could be done in one day, but i have a list of things i want to do before i die. here is the short list in no particular order...

heli-boarding
sky diving
scuba diving w/ sharks
drive a ferrari (really friggin fast!)
sail a boat across the atlantic
learn how to white water kayak
ride my bike up and over some of the historical mtns in italy and france.
ride some of the cobblestone sections of the spring classics in northern france and belgium.

Thanks Amanda, for that wonderfully honest thread. When I posted I had been listening to the that song, Live like you were dying.

I played that song for my mom shortly after her liver transplant, when we almost lost her. My mom has always been about responsibility, making money, taking care of the here and now. Not that thats a bad thing, but when she almost passed, I got a revelation that I had hoped to pass on to her. Her entire immediate family except for one sister lives in BC. Thats 3 days drive from here. She sees them once every 3 or 4 years. It really bothers me because they are all getting older. She has now lost 2 older sisters and 2 brothers, one older and one younger. There were 15 to start so there are plenty left, but my mom is the second oldest in her family now. For my aunts(the only one that is older than her now) birthday this summer the family is planning a huge family reunion. My mom was excited for a bit, and then all of a sudden, she has decided that it will cost too much money to go. She would rather miss out than worry about the money. I have offered to cover the business for them so they wouldn't have to pay anyone, but my mom says my dad would never let me work without paying me. [:'(] I don't need the money. What I need is for my mom to wake up and realize that there are way more important things in life than money.

I always think to myself, would I regret not doing this if I died tomorrow? Putting in extra hours at the office, doing my dishes, making my kid finish the supper that he plainly doesn't like... none of that ever gets a yes answer. Reading with Kale, counting Kali's toes to her adorable little giggles, rolling around on the grass with the dogs, they always get resounding yesses. Obviously some of the other things need to be done. I just try not to let it control my life.

I'm still pondering my answer to my own question in the original post. I'll let you know when I've compiled it.

I always think to myself, would I regret not doing this if I died tomorrow?

 
I think this is such an important thing for all of us to consider.  It's one of the reasons I went to Florida to visit my friend recently.  We'd both had some health scares recently and with each one I realized how much she means to me and how badly I'd miss her if anything happened.  I think it's wonderful that you're concerned about your mom and I hope that she'll listen to you and make the trip. 
 
Other than trying to fit in one last visit with those I love, I think that sitting down for an hour or so and making a video recording for family and friends would be really nice.  I think it'd be especially important if you have young children.  My mom died when I was only 12, and I would love to have something more than photos to remember her by.

I definately think my day would include videos to my kids.

Noble or inspiring it may not be, but my day would be spent grieving for all the days I would not have with my children...what else is there? My death would have a far greater impact on them than on me. I'd focus on simply looking at them and touching them and smelling them, making them happy for the last time I was able...and cursing whatever reason was taking me away from them.
 
There's an my answer.

In all honestly I believe I would probably do the same Gina. I would hope that I could pull myself together enough to make the day as unforgettably happy for my children as possible.

We'd start the day with McDonalds, one with a playplace. I'd give Kale 2 hours just to climb around in there while I blew raspberries on Kali's toes. If she napped, I would climb around a bit with Kale, and even if she didn't I would help him take her down a couple slides. Then we'd leave with the stroller and Kale on his bike. Kali would probably nap then. We'd do a loop of as many parks as we could so Kale could play for as long as he liked. We'd head to a swimming pool cause both of my kids love the water. After some splashing, we'd probably grab a hotdog and some icecream. Then off to the mall where I would spend every last penny in my wallet on Kale since mostly it goes to Kali and she wouldn't care anyway. We'd go see a movie and do a round of miniput. By then both kids would probably be pretty tired, so we would head home grabbing a pizza on the way and let Kale fall asleep watching one of his movies as I rocked Kali for the last time(omg that made me sob.) After both were asleep I would head to the park with the dogs. Obviously BF would be home with the kids. I would let them run for as long as they liked. Chase, fetch, even in the creek would be fair game. And if anyone came along with a little dog and yelled at me that I should have my dogs on a leash, I would scream back at them, "I'm gonna die tomorrow and this is the last time you will ever have to deal with me and my dogs so go to hell! Besides my dogs won't hurt your yappy little thing..." Just to relieve some of the pain. I'd probably take them up to the swamp so they could get a little frog hunting in too. Once they were trying to nap everytime I stopped moving, I would bring them home and give them a steak. I'd make a video for each of my kids and one for BF and one for the rest of my family. After that I would have BF hold me until it was over.

I do believe I have just planned my Saturdays from now on, with a few modifications of course. Probably spend a little less money and I wouldn't yell at anyone. I may even make videos just in case.

Haha, I was actually talking about this a few weeks ago. My best friend thinks the fact that I'm almost 19, not in college or working towards anything, is awful and ridiculous, and I'm going to regret it later.
 
The reason I'm not "doing anything" is because I'm a nanny for my 4 year old niece, have been since she was 2 months old, and I'm not ready to give that up and let her mother put her in daycare. I know I won't ever regret helping to shape this wonderful new person, even though I'm "losing" a few years of my life. 
 
Anyway, I explained to him that if I found out I was going to die in a day, a week, a month, whatever, all I'd really want to do is spend as much time as I can with Alleen and everyone else I love. There are things I want to do in my life, adventures and experiences I want to have, but if I'm dying tomorrow, they don't matter. All that matters is my family and friends.
 
Specifically, if I found out I was dying tomorrow, I would jump out of my chair and take Alleen to the zoo or beach or something, and make my sister and nephew come with us. I would fly my best friend in from MA, and my Grandmom in from MD, and spend the rest of the day with them and everyone I'm close to that lives here. I would call my Dad who I haven't spoken to since I was 9, and tell him I love him, I miss him, and I would try to forgive him for leaving us. And of course, I would cuddle with my Cherokee as much as I could, and make my Mom promise to be nice to her and take care of her as well as she can.

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

Noble or inspiring it may not be, but my day would be spent grieving for all the days I would not have with my children...what else is there? My death would have a far greater impact on them than on me. I'd focus on simply looking at them and touching them and smelling them, making them happy for the last time I was able...and cursing whatever reason was taking me away from them.
 
There's an my answer.

 
Nicely said, my sentiments.  "making them happy for the last time I was able".

[linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mHaFMqde6A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mHaFMqde6A[/link]
 
That's that song you were mentioning.
 
Something else that came to mind. For our anniversary last month, DW got me a book. "It's okay to miss the bed on the first jump" by John O'Hurley. He's that guy with the white hair that does the dog show. He even did an insurance commercial where they treat him like a star. Anyway, he is a lifelong lover of dogs. He wrote down his observations of his dogs and how they have affected his life and perception.
 
Dogs do have memories, they do generalize. And they live in the moment. They have no concept of size, so they never tell themselves they can't do something. They just figure out a way to do it. When they fall, they just get up and try it again. Watch a dog that has had a bad leg amputated. After healing, they are out and about going as fast as three legs can carry them, happy to be out there. And each day is new.
 
Another thing comes to mind. In the movie, "G.I. Jane," Viggo Mortensen plays a master cpo in charge of bud/S training (SEAL training). He leads them into "Hell Week" ( a week long exercise of simulated combat and stress) with a prose.
 
"I never once saw a wild thing feel sorry for itself. Even a sparrow, freezing to death in the midst of winter, never once feels sorry for itself."
 
When my first wife passed away, one of the things I lost was my fear of death. And I cannot be intimidated by any man. So, each day that I wake up is a good one. And if, one day, I don't wake up, then so must it be. If I were to die tomorrow is a reality I face every day. It's a dangerous world out there. I work in high places, often with energized wires.
 
If I knew I were to die tomorrow, 12 to 24 hours is not a lot of time to organize much. But if I could do it, I would go surfing and snow skiing. I'd run a day in the Yukon Quest.
 
But more than anything, I would spend the day with my DW. I want her as the final thought as I breathe my last breath.
 

I would do all of my most favorite things:

- spend time w/ my dog
- get the biggest Coke Icee known to mankind
- listen to my favorite U2 concert bootleg and pretend I was back at the show like when I was the first one on the floor...
- do flips on a trampoline
- go somewhere neat (neat in a locally unique way, like an old factory or a park) and take photographs
- go up to the lake where my extended family has gone every year for over 65 years.  In fact, I'd want to die right there.  Just let me die sitting on that dock with my toes in the water...

I'm not the kind of person to go around saying goodbye, and my friends are not the type to put up with any of that.  My best friends live far away, so the rare times we are all together, we don't waste time catching up or saying goodbyes, we just carry on like we always have as if no time has passed.  I'd expect the same if I were to die tomorrow and they could be with me.

But more than anything, I would spend the day with my DW. I want her as the final thought as I breathe my last breath.

[] OMG! Why on earth did I ever post this. I am not equipped to handle this kind of emotion. That was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. Ron your wife is very lucky.

I honestly don#%92t know how to answer this. AND to make matters worse I am tearing up just thinking about it. It doesn#%92t help that you only gave 1 day so how am I suppose to visit family in Hawaii, my stepson who is away overseas and the family that lives locally? [8|]

    I think after visiting my mom and stepdad who live locally and spending time with my stepdaughter. I would want to load the pups up in the RV and head with DH to the mountains. Take a beautiful hike with the pups, set up the hammocks and swing in the sun while holding DH#%92s hand. Have the best BBQ dinner ever and sing our favorite songs together around the campfire. Then stay up all night cuddled up in a sleeping bag together and watching the stars and awaiting sunrise.  

Ron your wife is very lucky.

 
I was thinking the very same thing. My husband probably would've said "play a round of golf and have a dinner and dessert worthy of a heart attack" []