My wise father said often, “You never know what tomorrow will bring.” It was his way of indicating that we needed to cherish the present and the people sharing our live
s. It wasn’t really about preparing for the perils and pitfalls, although he and my mom seemed to be able to rise to the occasion when loss and challenges showed up on our doorstep. He lost his father when he was a newly-wed in his 30s. My mother lost her father when she was 18. Both of them watched their mothers die when they were young parents with two children to raise. He lost his beloved younger sister in his 40s. Job layoffs had him scrambling to find work, which he did with flair until he was called back in. He was a worrier by genetics since my paternal grandmother fretted over what she couldn’t control. I would often remind...