Saying Goodbye

I got the news via a text message, one of my clients, and a friend had passed away from a sudden heart attack. It was jarring, I had only a few days before spoken to him no less than 3 times about the next deal he wanted to do. There is no need for names here, but suffice to say this was the sort of person that could instantly bring a smile to the face of a friend or a stranger.

He worked on the banking scene for decades in Vermont, for a few different banks and recently was doing some work with a local lending group. He was very active in the commercial real estate market up in Chittenden County, and I always marveled at how he had an "in" on just about any piece of property before it hit the market. Again, he was a people person, and folks were just comfortable enough to always give him an inside scoop.

He was a Dad, leaving a college age son and daughter. The deal we had on the books was helping a program expand that his daughter used. This was a feel good deal, and as always I was happy to help a Dad help his daughter. Recently he had a health scare, so lost a ton of weight, adjusted his diet and stopped, or curbed some old habits. He looked great, sounded great and I can't say enough just how shocking his loss is.

As is often the case when you lose someone too soon, you tend to reflect on your life's priorities. With this loss fresh in my mind I opted today to stay home after I picked up my son from school, engage in a raucous snowball fight with both kids, work on some home work with them, make our own pizza for dinner and finish the night with a new movie. Why do this when I had a few more things to do at the office? Because you never know when the afternoon you are embarking upon could be your last, and some extra time with my family, especially after such a sad loss, seemed far more important than the few things waiting for me at work.