Dan Wheldon

Was watching today's between the Falcons and Cam-olina (Carolina) Panthers when my twitter feed started exploding with reports of a 'big one' during today's race, that involved driver Dan Wheldon.

Now, I'm a NASCAR gal. Hubby works for one of the companies that's a lead sponsor for a driver, so we're fans of that driver & I'm also partial to JR. I knew NASCAR had their race last night, so wasn't sure at first which series this was. Turned out to be IndyCars. Other than the Indy500, I don't watch IRL racing. I'm a sucker for the spectacle that's The 500, from the Perdue band & Jim Nabors singing "back home again in Indiana" to the milk & roses for the winner, to the massiveness that's the Brickyard: it's an American as apple pie.

I remember Wheldon winning in flukey fashion this year. A rookie led almost the whole race, and was on his way to clearcut win, when, well...racing stuff happened. The rookie had an accident on the last lap, and Wheldon was in position to speed around and claim the race win. Today, just 13 laps in, what might have been a simple accident became a horrific 15-car, fiery crash with debris spread over a long stretch around Turn 4.

About 2 hours later, the announcer told the viewing audience that Dan Weldon had not survived the crash. Wheldon was 33, with a wife and 2 young sons. The remaining drivers took to their cars, some openly weeping and completed a slow 5 lap tribute to their fallen friend and competitor, to the strains of Danny Boy and Amazing Grace.

It was such a stark reminder that we truly don't know how long we'll grace this life with our presence. We know in our heads that it can all end in a moment, but there's a part of us that assumes we'll be allowed the maximum number of the "days of our lives". We really don't know how long we're going to have to "finish the race" so we need to make sure we make the most of our time, Count your blessings, love your loved ones, don't let wounds fester into something that becomes a deeper hurt, if you can. Let your time count!