My father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on June 1st, 2023. He passed away on July 18th, 2023. That’s 47 days, or 6 weeks and 5 days.
In those 47 days, not one of his doctors explained to him how little time he had left. All the while, Dad figured he had months or maybe years left. No person–or family–should have to go through that kind of a situation, but such is life. None of us really know how much time we have left.
In his last days, Dad kept repeating a proverb that his mother used to use–“NO GREEN BANANAS.”
When we asked him for more clarifying detail as to what he meant by that, he elaborated by saying that when one buys a green banana, they generally do so anticipating that they will allow the banana to ripe at their house for a few days before eating it–almost pre-programming the fruit, with the “going concern” assumption that tomorrow (and the day after, and the day after that) will, in fact, come. Don’t make plans for the future that take tomorrows for granted. That is–you may not have a chance to eat those green bananas, and those tomorrows may not come.
While I maintain that it is still important that we all plan for the future as best as possible (for example: I’m still a big fan of the Rich Dad / Poor Dad advice of “Pay Yourself First,”), we’ve got to eliminate the green bananas in our life.
I’ve started to account for the green bananas in my life. Just looking at myself with regards to travel: there are a whole host of trips that I’ve put on a list that I’ve meant to take. Specifically, as I write this entry, I have a list of 36 trips to new places in the United States that I really want to experience–and I know that list will ultimately grow over time. And that’s not even including all of the places around the world–most of which are in Europe–that I really want to visit. I see these dreams as all “green bananas,” and if I’m not careful, they’ll be around longer than I will.
While it is a saying, it is also a promise I’ve made to myself. From here on, there will be an effort to recognize and squash all of the green bananas. I hope that you take this same advice to heart. Life is too short–so seize the day, and NO GREEN BANANAS.
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