In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been inundated with reminders of my mortality. It’s a frightening, albeit necessary process that makes us value those we hold dear. I recently saw two movies that did just that. When these movies were initially released, I passed on the chance to watch. I thought these were just ordinary movies that were trying to lure moviegoers with big name stars and time-proven love story formulae. I could never have been more wrong.

I watched Sweet November, and corny as the plot may seem, it broke my heart to see lovers bid each other a regretful goodbye. Heartrending scene? When Keanu, blindfolded and all, still walked towards Charlize Theron. He did so because he didn’t want to let her go. But he finally accepted he had to and he removed the blindfold a while later. Then there was Vanilla Sky. When the movie was about to end, Tom Cruise’s last wish was to see Penelope one last time. My heart broke again. Cruise’s character already knew by then that the world around was only a “created” world, a Lucid Dream of his own making. He realizes that when he wakes up from this Lucid Dream, he won’t be able to love the woman of his dreams anymore. She was dead, after all. And he? After being cryogenically frozen, he had a chance at a new life 100 or so years after the love of his life died. But then again, you would have had to have watched these movies to appreciate the points I'm making.

Well, on to the third reminder then. . . I despise cynical air of most American TV shows, but tonight I watched Six Feet Under. The episode was about a three-week old baby that died of SIDS. One of the employees of the funeral home was tasked with “taking care” of the baby’s body. Problem was he was an expectant father. Every time he tried to “work” on the baby, he could not help but think of his own child. His wife was seven-months pregnant. He was uneasy and feared that his child might meet the same fate. It was painful to see a father go through such a situation, I being a new father myself.

Every one of these stories served as a grim reminder that we are made of mortal flesh and that we must love what we have while we have it. Good night folks :-) I have to kiss my baby a few more times. Children grow so quickly nowadays. I will miss him when I am gone.