My Last Birthday - What Would I Do? LOH CONTEST WEEK #109

Hello Everybody, I wanted to join the last LOH contest, but before i knew it, It was past deadline. This week, I decided to write my entry. Truth be told, The questions for this week are deep. After much considerations, I'd answer this one.

https://peakd.com/hive-124452/@ladiesofhive/ladies-of-hive-community-contest-109

Death is an unusual topic of conversation, but remembering death makes us appreciate life. If this were your last birthday, how would you like to celebrate it and why?

_{Image source - Edited using Canva}

Last Birthday - What Will I Do?

A few weeks ago, the head pastor in my mum's church died. It was shocking and beyond devastating. He had just finished preaching at the morning service, went to his office, slumped, and died. Just like that. If anybody had told him, he wouldn't see the end of that day, there would be lots of binding and casting because you had to be an agent of darkness to say such. But it happened and his journey on earth has ended, his chapter closed.

I think of all the people who leave their houses every day, looking forward to the fresh pot of soup they would have for dinner but never making it back home. They had no idea a trailer would crush their car. I think of the people who embarked on a journey to meet their loved ones in another state with great anticipation but never made it because a fuel tanker exploded and they became nothing but darkened bones. My sister and dad are doctors so I hear so many stories of people who came to the hospital with headaches but their families ended up taking their corpses out of the hospital.

The only thing that is inevitable in life is death. Everybody would die one day, just like we were conceived and given birth to. As a popular Christian song says, "this world is not my home". I used to be afraid of death, dreading it with passion. I don't fear death again because I've accepted that this is life and we would all die. I'm no better than those who have gone. My only prayer is that I'm here for a long time, a really long one.

Death is a topic we don't really talk about and I get it. Nobody wants to discuss something so depressing when there are a thousand and one interesting topics to spend hours pondering on. However, death makes you appreciate the life you have. When you think of the ways all these could end in a second, you would learn to be grateful for all you have, life, family, friends, and career. Life in itself is so fickle and we never understand it until someone loses theirs.

If this would be my last birthday ( God forbid in Jesus' name), I would spend the little time I have savoring every single minute. This reminds me of a book I read some time ago, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. The male main character had just one year to live and he didn't want to miss any moment. He didn't see an old movie twice or wasted an extra second in a queue. He tried new things and created new memories. In all honesty, I would do the same except for the part about rewatching an old film. I need to experience some feelings again and again.

Family First

The point is that I wouldn't waste time, at all. I would talk to my siblings about everything. I would let my sisters know about their dresses I stole and confess to my brothers that I was behind their missing t-shirts. I would lay on my mum's bosom and let her stroke my hair like she used to do when I was much younger. I would sit on my dad's lap and listen to stories of his school days for the 100th time. I would gather all my friends together and be silly for the last time. I would drink till I forget my name and wake up the next day to watch embarrassing videos of myself. I would lean more into their hugs and make them tighter till I crush their bones. Because I'm interested in the mark I would leave behind, I would write a lot of things. I might use that last year to publish a memoir or autobiography. I'll tell the world of my favorite memories, saddest moments, life lessons, and my feminist assertions. I would leave something behind to be reminded by. I might also have lots and lots of sex. However it would still be difficult to erase the looming sadness in your heart. But one would shake it off because it's better to spend your last moments happy than dreading when you leave.

Unfortunately, nobody knows when they would die. It could be anytime. So those things you always say when asked what you would spend your last days doing, I advice that you start doing them now.

Thank You For Reading!