I have been traveling to Vegas for 32 years, although my bi-yearly trips didn't start until 2005. Needless to say it has been my favourite vacation spot for all this time. Currently it is changing in ways that don't thrill me (Too much emphasis on sports, the F1 race and its surrounding confusion etc.) but I still love it.
As I have aged I have become somewhat mobility challenged and need a walker to get around. I long for the days when I could roam from one end of the Strip to the other without issues. But even though I have to adjust my activity levels now Las Vegas is still my favourite place, particularly downtown where I can hang out in certain casinos that hardly seem to have changed at all.
But every time I visit now I find myself wondering
"Is this my last trip to Vegas?"
There is really no way of knowing.
Life has taught me that there is no way to predetermine when the LAST TIME of anything is.
I often think about a dear friend that I lost many years ago. We used to attend a certain club's meetings together. She would pick me up and drive me home. I was actually done with the club but I continued to attend the meetings just because I loved her company so much. I got to spend time with her every week and that was so precious to me. I introduced her to our local casino and convinced her to spend a few weekends there with me. I will never forget the time she won three hundred dollars. You would have thought it was three million. She ran around taking pictures of the TITO and sending them to her friends and relatives. I tried to talk her into taking a Vegas trip with me but she seemed to feel like that was too much. How I would have adored showing her around Vegas.
I knew she had a medical condition but I don't think I realized how serious it was. One night at the club meeting she wasn't feeling well. We had duties to perform for the club so I was intent upon doing my duty. She was looking for her water bottle that she left in the car. Someone went to get it for her. I should have gotten it for her, to hell with my "duties". I have always regretted that. I think she might have left early that night but I had no idea that I would never see her again. The next week I was off to Vegas as usual. As I was wandering through some shops I spotted a heart shaped glittery key chain that I thought she would like. When I returned from Vegas she still wasn't well enough to return to the meetings and she wouldn't let me come see her. (Ominous) She allowed the head of the group to come to her apartment because she was still performing paperwork for the group even during her illness. So I sent the glittery red heart along with a note with our group leader to give to her. She messaged me to thank me for it. Shortly after this she passed away.
I was stunned, shocked, heartbroken. It has been ten years but I still miss her like crazy. Back here in Windsor I saw a red glittery key chain similar to the one I bought her and I purchased it. It is not as nice but I will never take it off my keys because every time I pick them up I think of her.
This long drawn out story is just to illustrate, yet again, that we never know when the last time of anything will be.
So try to be present and cherish the moments.
Life is so unpredictable.
We need to enjoy what we can, while we can.
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