Stop and Watch the Sunset

Kathleen Givens was a fabulous author and a dear friend. I spent the weekend in her hometown of Laguna Beach California with her family and friends, remembering her and the extraordinary life she led. On New Year's Day, she died suddenly and unexpectedly in the arms of her husband of forty years. Her heart just stopped. No warning.

But in her last four months, she had made a habit of forcing everyone around her to stop what they were doing and watch the sunset. She treasured every one as if she knew, though she couldn't have known, that it would be her last. Life is short, she always said. Hug your kids.

I blogged with Kathleen and Julia London at the Whine Sisters. In 2009, we added authors Jacquie D'Alessandro, Kathleen O'Reilly, Dee Davis, and Julie Kenner to the fold. But the three of us, the original Whine Sisters, remained the best of friends and always exchanged special Christmas gifts. This year's Kathleen gift? A necklace with her new mantra, a Winston Churchill quote: Never never never give up. She gave them to her daughters, too. A few years ago, she gave us bracelets that said "Fortune sides with she who dares."

Every day, I think of Kathleen, and I dare.

Share your memories and honor Kathleen with a donation to her favorite cause, the Ronald McDonald House of Orange County.