I just returned from a week in Minnesota. My younger brother's 2 1/2 year battle with brain cancer ended last Wednesday.  He and I spent quite a bit of time together discussing a variety of topics including the type of services he wanted and how I could help his wife and children after he passed.  During one of our conversations he told me that he didn't always appreciate things and now that he was coming to the end of his life he reminded me to cherish life and to not take things for granted.  I thought I would list some of those things that we should not take for granted according to him...

"If you see a flat stone at the beach try to skip it over the waves.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Eat dessert before dinner every once in a while.

Understand that friends come and go.  Hang on to the precious ones.

Have some fun each day.

Volunteer to help the less fortunate.

Appreciate the sun and its warmth - but wear sunscreen.

Keep your birdfeeder filled.

Accept people for who they are.

Grow a garden.

Say you are sorry if you do something wrong.

Say "I love you!" to everyone you truly love.

Set your standards well above what you think.

Sip your beer.

Always look both ways.

To get love you must give love.

Spend some extra time enjoying the smells of a bakery.

And...Call your mother often."

Conrad Nilsen Smith 1956-2013