There is a lot of wisdom out there on how to live your life and how to recognize its twists and turns. Many, by now, famous quotes and sayings to enforce it can be found. “Life is happening” – a quote originally made by Allen Saunders in 1957 – he was a journalist, cartoonist and writer – and his quote became famous when John Lennon included it in his song “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” in 1980. “Such is life” buy Ned Kelly, an Australian bushranger and outlaw, who is supposed to have muttered those words before he was executed by hanging for shooting police officers during a standoff. The quote: “There is no such thing as a normal life, there’s just life … now get on with it!” dates to the Movie Tombstone from 1993 – it was given by Doc Holliday in response to the character Wyatt Earp asking for a normal life on his death bed (Admittedly I have not watched this movie). Historical records on these thoughts go back to the mid-centuries – a book whose true author is not known called “La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades” (The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities) – first published in Spanish and later translated into many languages. It illustrates the ups and downs of life illustrated by a poor boy’s journey serving a variety of masters. All these examples are quite theoretical until they hits home. It did so for me a week ago. We do run a calendar to keep track of our commitments. We had marked the birthday of our granddaughter as the trigger for a trip to Portland. The birthday party was aligned with her sleeping schedule and was to take place from 11:30pm to 2:00pm. From a discussion on a song on the radio, that my wife liked, came a search and discovery that the very artist was giving a concert in Portland on the very same day – so we got lucky and struck out on some last-minute tickets for a show at 7:00pm. And then somewhat unexpectedly came another invitation – to the celebration of life for the daughter of dear friends – to take place a 2:00pm the very same day. We had heard the news of her passing a while ago and had known for a long time about her serious illness. After the news reached us, we had sent our condolences and had asked if there was an event we could join in to express our empathy personally – and there it was. Unintentionally wedged between a birthday party and a concert. All dates were still aligned, so far so good. What we did not really expect was the rollercoaster of emotions that took place that day. Imagine the laughter, smiles and cute affairs of a first baby girl’s birthday. It was a really nice gathering of family and friends all cherishing the birthday girl and all the other kids that were playing together with her. What an expression of life and of the wonder of children growing up. As the time for our departure approached my mind started shifting though towards the celebration of life – what to expect, what to say. A flood of memories of our friend’s daughter and her joint time with our daughter, who is the same age, wallowed up inside me. Perhaps this is when it became all too real. A life cut short. The saying goes that parents should not burry their children and grandparents should even more so not burry their grandchildren – yet that was what was about to happen. We joined an emotional and impactful ceremony and felt deeply with our friends and their family. And perhaps recognized, even more so how lucky we are with our children and grandchildren being healthy and thriving. It was a quiet drive home. Two hours later my wife and got ready to go to the concert – a night out between the two of us with what turned out to be one of my wife favorites singers (I like his music too!). We got carried away by the music, the atmosphere in the theater surrounded by young and old people, couples and groups of friends, all cheering for the music. The singer was Dean Lewis, and my favorite song out of his portfolio is “How do I say goodbye” – a song about the loss of a loved one, a friend, which he performed at the concert. Perhaps this is what closed the circle for that day for me. Life is happening!