Over at Makin Moves, Katherine is asking the question, “If you had one day left, how would you spend it?” Here is my answer:

I’ve often thought of my final day, my final moments. What will I be feeling? Who will be around me? Will I feel complete at my final moment? I have never been able to answer or completely grasp the answers to those questions. But in recently reading Tuesdays with Morrie, I have found the answers lie in the days before the final day.

My “Life To Do” list is long and will take me a lifetime. So I hope I’m not faced with this question until every item is checked off. In my life I want to visit France and Slovakia, and see the works of Michelangelo. I want to touch the lives of people around me. I want to cry. I want to hug. I want to love.

On my last day, I will do everything I can to do everything one last time. I will wake up early as I am known to do. I’ll make a cup of my favorite coffee and drink it on my porch, watching the sun come up and the world come to life. Soon after, I’ll go for a run. It will be a perfect run. The wind in my face, the feel of my lungs pounding through my chest. I will be alive.

I’d gather some friends for a fun lunch at a local cafe. The mood would be lite and of course, they’d be making fun of me for something. It happens today so why shouldn’t it happen on my last day? We’ll reminisce, but also talk of the future. Of our next lunch together. We’ll talk of our dreams and our failures. We’ll share the moments we’ve had in between. We’ll say farewell with a long, close embrace.

I may read in the afternoon or maybe I’ll pick up the tennis racquet one last time and hit a few with my best friend. He won’t let me win, but that’s the way we are. I’ve always been a competitor, so why stop now?

There are so many foods that I enjoy, how can I pick a last meal? It could be sushi or Italian or pizza or pasta or chicken or a great, big, juicy cheeseburger. No matter the food, I will again with friends at this, my final meal. It won’t feel like it though. It again will be fun and there will be talk of sports and upcoming events and past moments of joy. And again, I’ll be the butt of jokes.

I will want to spend some time writing. There are things I’ll want to say to people. Notes of thanks and of love. Of appreciation for kindness never forgotten and words never shared. I’ll kiss my loved ones good-night and crawl into bed. I’ll be at peace. I’ll know that I gave my life to love. I’ll believe in the power of my memory to keep changing lives. I take my last breath and deliver myself back to the Universe. I will be at peace. That will be my final day.

(Flickr photo via eelssej)