I have been the most terrible blogger lately for which I hope you accept my sincere apologies. Thing is that I still don't have internet at home, my personal life has been a rollercoaster and I have been flying around the world for work lately. So seen a lot, happened a lot and been very busy.That's why I decided to spend extra quality time with my son this weekend doing funny kids stuff together . On friday we build ourselves a kite and flew it over the Amsterdam dikes adjacent to my backyard. This was real fun because the kite rose to great hight. Then we played football and we baked ourselves some pancakes. You should have seen the kitchen afterwards. On Saturday we decided to visit the movies. Monsterhouse was playing and we were in for some excitement.
However, on our way to the movie theater a terrible accident occurred right in front of our eyes. An older bicyclist forgot to give way to the car in front of us and got knocked of his bike. In fact, he instantly became airborne and had an aweful landing - head first- with a thud on the asphalt. I still have the image on my retina. My son was reading the Donald Duck so luckily he missed it.
I parked the car crossways in front of him so no cars could pass, told my son to stay put and started helping. The car driver allready supported the old man but lots of blood was oozing out of his head wound. Me and some bystanders tried to keep the old man concious but after a few minutes he passed out, re-appeared and then went into a shock because of the many injuries and blood loss. By the time the ambulance arrived we guessed he had litttle chance that he would make it to the hospital. I don't know how the story ended but I hope he survived. If not, may God bless his beautiful soul.So, our father and son pleasure weekend turned out a little different then I planned it to. And allthough we still had the most wonderful Sunday, the message send to me was crystal clear:
Seize the day. Or to quote the Roman poet Horace: "Enjoy the present and don't worry about the future, as in It's a beautiful day, so forget tomorrow's test--carpe diem!"
To all of you I say, go fly your kites today, bake some pancakes, open your best bottle of wine tonight and enjoy the now 'cause life may be shorter then you expect it to be.
Take care and Memento Mori my virtual friends!
What is love? 'Tis not hereafter;
Present mirth has present laughter;
What's to come is still unsure.
In delay there lies no plenty,
Then come and kiss me sweet and twenty;
Youth's a stuff will not endure.
"from Twelfth Night, by W. Shakespeare"
17 comments:
Glad you had a good time bonding with your son because boys (girls too) need their dad! Hope you can relax a bit more and not fly out and about so much as much that can be interesting. It can be too much of a good thing. Poor man. With all the laws and the driving here in the States, I think, good grief, if they would have seen the way I drove my bike when I was a teen..phoo! Hope all turned out well for the man but that looked like a really bad incident. I will try to seize the day, too often I'm with my head in the future or the past and living in the moment is not something I'm good at,
thx for the reminder and good to see you back!
Ingrid
Yes, we're simultaneously so tough and so fragile, and that thread breaks in an instant. Seize the day is right. Glad you're alright and getting some time with your boy. Regards.
Oh, Dimitri, how awful. I had a similar incident a few years ago when a motorcyclist flew off his cycle two cars in front of me and landed on his head. Horrible thing to see. But I'm glad that you were able to see the lesson in it, and that you were able to comfort the man--whatever the ultimate outcome, I'm sure he appreciated it. And now, I'm off to pour myself a nice glass of wine and soak in a hot bath, one of the loveliest creature comforts on earth.
What a sad thing to happen.
Glad to see you back. The kites sound like fun.
Seize the day indeed Dimitri. Good to see you were able to spend quality time with your son as time flies by so quickly. But that awful accident is exactly why helmets are always worn by all in my family. ALWAYS. Your brain is far too precious to risk smashing it like a ripe melon.
An awful hapenning but you responded very well and did everthing possible for the older cyclist.
Seize the day is right,time with family is precious and I am sure for you both it is rewarding and enjoyable !!
best wishes
Thinking about you Dimitri.
Dimitri,
I checked in occasionally while you were away. No, I did not think you were a bad blogger. Our life sometimes get too busy for blogging, that's all. We can only do so much in a day.
So sorry to hear about the cyclist accident. Helmets should always be worn as a safety precaution. May God bless him wherever he is at this moment.
Time spent with your son is time well spent. Enjoy these moments as you never know when it all comes to an end, eh?
Saludos,
Enid
how quickly things change, huh? when you think you have the best time ever, then suddenly reality hits, and puts everything in perspective.
i'm glad your son was reading and didn't see the accident, it would probably have given him nightmares for weeks... I really hope the man will be OK! Bless his soul - and bless you too!! I have missed you here, D..
How lucky your son did not witness the accident. It would be a terrible way to end such a beautiful day with his dad.
Did you ever find out what happened to the cyclist?
Such a tragic sight can really put things into perspective. I've lived through and seen so much in my life, that I always try to seize the day, or even a moment and really live! Cheers to spending time with your son, morning pancakes, and flying kites!
What an experience. You're a good man to help out and I'm glad your son didn't witness too much.
Seize the day indeed!
I like the Greek philosopher Epictetus and he said a couple of things that come to mind here DA:
- Make full use of what happens to you.
- Never suppress a generous impulse.
Cute little boy, DA! Hope all is peaceful soon (but not too much so, as I believe you would then be bored).
thank you all for your heartwarming comments my friends. I do not know if the old man survived but all is peaceful now..
Wow,,,
I can say no more than Wow
Carpe Diem!
This poor soul was so lucky to have such a soul as you there on the spot.
Your son is very lucky too!!
Wish we all had such fathers as you.
My best to you my friend,,,
and thanks for another wonderful reminder.....
It also reminds me of a theme song of mine sung by Eros Ramazzotti and Cher:Piu' Che Puoi
Find this song and listen to it if you get the chance.. It has to be my favorite of all songs
I couldn't wait for you to look up this song; here are the words to
Piu che puoi
Guarir non è possibile
la malattia di vivere
sapessi com´è vera
questa cosa qui
E se ti fa soffrire un po´
puniscila vivendola
è l´unica maniera
sorprenderla così...
Più che puoi, più che puoi
afferra questo istante e stringi
più che puoi, più che puoi
e non lasciare mai la presa
c´è tutta l´emozione dentro che tu voi
di vivere la vita più che puoi
You´ve got one chance, the gift to feel
love´s deepest pain you cannot heal
it shatters every memory
that you keep inside
I tell you this because I know
protect what´s dear, dont´trade your soul
´cause there´s nothing left around you
there´s no place left to go
All you can, all you can
you gotta take this life and live it
all you can, all you can
and never let it go
there´s one thing in this life I understand, ooh
Siamo noi, siamo noi
che abbiamo ancora voglia di stupire noi
siamo noi
che la teniamo sempre accesa
quest´ansia leggerisima che abbiamo poi
di vivere la vita più che puoi
Respira profondo
apri le tue braccia al mondo
e abbraccia tutto quello che ci sta
tutta l´emozione che ci sta
All you can, all you can
you gotta take this life and live it
all you can
all you can
and never let it go
´cause there´s one thing in this life I understand, ooh
Più che puoi, più che puoi
aferra questa vita stringi più che puoi
più che puoi
e non lasciare mai la presa
c´è tutta l'emozione dentro che tu vuoi
di vivere la vita più che puoi
di vivere la vita
più che puoi.
I guess I'm not shocked--as a pedestrian, I've been hit by a couple of bikers in Belgium (one turned into me on a crosswalk, the other on the SIDEWALK). They said a quick "sorry" and kept going-didn't even check to see if I was OK. I've had to throw my 4 year old daughter out of the way (again--on the sidewalk) and been forced to walk in busy streets because bikers park their bikes in front of shops, blocking the walking path. I've found that they don't care. They SMS on bikes, talk on GSMs on bikes, and ride their bikes into the sidewalk so they don't have to stop a conversation with another biker (to hell with the pedestrian). Sorry, I have no sympathy for bikers here.
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