It's Just Life

  • Home
  • About
  • Comments for a Cause
  • Tea and Teapots
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Writing
  • Recipes
  • Products
June 27, 2019

When I Die…

17 Comments/ 33/ 0

When I die I want people to know that I loved them and that they were important to me. It’s a simple goal but one that hit me this week as I scrolled through Facebook.

I was “reminded” by Facebook of the birthday of a fellow blogger friend that I hadn’t heard from in quite awhile. I had visited his blog last year and left a message on an old post. He never responded but then I hadn’t seen him write a post for quite awhile so I didn’t think much more about it at the time. Bloggers come and go.

When the birthday reminder came up I went to his Facebook page and saw birthday messages (including mine from last year) but no other activity. And then I looked a bit closer and saw the RIP message. My heart fell. My friend, Jack aka Jake had passed and I didn’t even know it.

Some of my long time readers here may remember Jack aka Jake Downing who blogged at Poems and Ponderings He was one of my biggest fans and we had a really great blogger support system going for a long time. His wife’s name was Beth and we had a lot of things in common. He was a wonderful poet and I loved reading what he wrote. I had a lot of respect for this veteran and Postal employee. So when I did a little search and found his obituary from last May it made me more than a little sad and I just can’t shake it.

So I guess it made me think a little bit about life and death and how social media has changed things surrounding those topics a bit. Even though I was subscribing to his blog and followed him in other ways I didn’t even know. I suspect that he got sick and the blog was the last thing on his mind. So it made me think about when I die…if I am still blogging…how I want my readers to find out.

I am always pretty open here on It’s Just Life although there are some topics that I don’t write about. Some things are just too personal and some things just don’t need to be shared, right? But one thing I know is that the people that I love know that I love them and my blog followers know that I am nothing if I am not sincere about my gratefulness to them for taking the time to read my posts. So I am going to take steps to make sure that if this blog is still going when my end time is near I will make sure that my readers are allowed to be a part of that part of my story as well. Not wanting to be morbid here but it seems like a way I can continue to share my love with my readers by allowing them to know what has happened, right?

So if you are reading today know that you are loved and that you are important to me. Whether we have met in real life yet or not is unimportant. Just knowing that you took the time to click and read makes my day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As always please feel free to leave me a comment and Comment for a Cause for Friends of DuPont Forest.

Share:
Tags:
blogging death die Peoms and Ponderings when I die
← Previous Glimpses From Lakeside, Ohio – Our Vacation in a Few Pictures
Next → The Dementia Journey Continues

Related Articles

  • A Gift Rediscovered

  • What Are You Going to Do Today?

  • I’ve Got Skills! What About You?

  • A Tiny Little Bunny

17 Comments

Leave a comment
  1. Karen
    June 27, 2019 at 06:50 am

    I know what you mean. There’s a blogger who I had a very good relationship as well, Mountain Woman. We even exchanged gifts and I thought of how fun it would be to visit her farm. I’ve tried to connect with her several times, several ways and heard nothing. No email response, nothing on FB and no more blog posts from her. I wonder what happened.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 27, 2019 at 09:30 am

      Oh Karen, that is too bad you can’t find her. I have another friend (blogger) that I have tried to reach out to as well but no contact in any way I can find works. It is sad, isn’t it, when someone just kind of disappears from life without any knowledge of what is going on? I guess your heart is just like mine!

      Reply
  2. Darlene
    June 27, 2019 at 07:02 am

    This has happened to me a few times already, where i have found someone in my social media world has passed away. I always try to reach out to the family if possible and send my condolences. Our blogging/social media friends are important to us. Perhaps we should let our family members know to inform these people as well. In the meantime, it is good to know we all love and care about each other. xo

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 27, 2019 at 09:29 am

      I have a plan to put into place but probably should actually write that final blog post and put it someplace in a draft form or something, But who knows how long I will keep blogging….

      Reply
  3. jena c. henry
    June 27, 2019 at 07:12 am

    Oh Beth , you are so sweet. Perhaps we should make sure our family know our passwords!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 27, 2019 at 09:28 am

      Yep–that goes in the Death Book, right? I am putting Aaron in charge since he does all my blog stuff. 🙂 Lucky guy!

      Reply
      1. dawnkinster
        June 29, 2019 at 02:24 am

        A Death Book…not sure what that is but it sounds useful.

        Reply
  4. Mama's Empty Nest
    June 27, 2019 at 07:34 am

    I’ve thought about this as well. I don’t think it’s being morbid to think about what you want done with your social media when you pass from this life, I think it’s just a part of life we should prepare for.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 27, 2019 at 09:27 am

      I think a lot of us long time bloggers think about this and how to handle it. I have a plan. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Duke1959
    June 27, 2019 at 08:06 am

    Beth Ann I couldn’t have said it better. As nance ( wife) says “as long as you are on this side of the sod there is always hope”. With my late father being a beat cop in a major northern city during the 60’s and 70’s the issue of death was never really talked about but it was always there. What I didn’t understand those lessons I learned from him would help me deal with nance as I have been facing my life’s biggest hurdle so far with her health. The reality is she is frail and I could walk upstairs and fine her gone. As you well know life is not a race to see who gets the most stuff. Nance has been an Rn for over 40 years ( she is about 10 years older) and she has shared that in all the times she has been by a dying person’s death bed not once has anyone asked to see something material one more time.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 27, 2019 at 09:27 am

      Oh I so understand the situation that you are in and am sending all of my good thoughts your way. It has to be so very tough! I agree–it is the relationships and the friendships that mean the most and that is what I cherish. Honestly there are very few personal items that I could not part with (and I have many!) but friendships and family—those are the things that mean the most to me. Blessings to you and your sweet Nance.

      Reply
  6. Debbie
    June 27, 2019 at 01:57 pm

    Such a sad story, Beth Ann. I imagine it happens more than we know. We’re blessed to be part of this loving, supportive blogging community, whether we’ve actually met one another or not. Finding out on Facebook that someone has passed seems incredibly sterile to me though.

    Reply
  7. Minnesota Prairie Roots
    June 27, 2019 at 04:27 pm

    Oh, Beth Ann, I am sorry about Jack aka Jake. I, too, followed him for quite some time and enjoyed his writing. I am sad to learn of his passing.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      June 27, 2019 at 04:41 pm

      I know— I was so sad to find out. I never had his address so can’t even send his wife a note. I hope he knew how much we enjoyed his writing and humor.

      Reply
  8. Shirley Matthews Dunn
    June 27, 2019 at 08:49 pm

    I understand not knowing that a friend or family member has passed and you did’t know. Very sad indeed. It sounds like you have everything covered, Beth Ann.

    Reply
  9. ozzieohlonemanthinktank
    June 28, 2019 at 09:45 am

    Those are tough moments indeed. It is equally tough when you get a notification about helping someone celebrate their birthday years after they have passed away. Your perspective provides me with insights that I would never acquire if you hadn’t created the ripple in Mason City Iowa.Thanks for helping me grow and trying to keep those ripples alive here in North Iowa.

    Reply
  10. dawnkinster
    June 29, 2019 at 02:28 am

    I have thought about this too. Don’t know what would happen to my blog, should think about that. More importantly I think we need something in writing about Katie if we were to die unexpectedly.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Subscribe To Rss Feed
  • 2,256 Followers
  • 2,272 Fans
  • Followers
  • 1 Followers
  • Subscribers
  • Subscribers
  • Follow It's Just Life

Comments For A Cause

  • Honoring My Mom with Comments for a Cause

  • Comments for a Cause – The Love of Books

  • Comments for a Cause – A Bit of Nostalgia

  • Comments for a Cause for the New Year

  • Comments for A Cause – Sharing Where Needs are Great

  • Comments for a Cause – Supporting First Responders

  • Comments for a Cause Goes Pink

  • Comments for a Cause: #IowaStrong

  • Comments for a Cause – Sharing With the Community

  • Comments for a Cause – Fill the Bus

  • Taking Care of Yourself and Others- Comments for a Cause

  • Comments for a Cause – Transylvania Tomorrow

  • Comments for a Cause – COVID – 19 Solidarity Response

  • Comments for a Cause – Helping North Carolina Babies

  • Comments for a Cause Goes International

Check Out My Past Posts

April 2021
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« Mar    

Text

Follow

Pinterest

Visit Beth Ann's profile on Pinterest.

Beth's bookshelf: read

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users
5 of 5 stars
The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users
by Guy Kawasaki
As always Guy Kawasaki has a great book with great information about all things social media. I highlighted tons of places in this book and it is definitely one that I will come back to time and time again to help me in all of the socia...
Old Girls in Low Cotton
3 of 5 stars
Old Girls in Low Cotton
by Helen Childress
This short book was one that looked like it would be a fun read. I honestly did not enjoy it all that much---it was a lot of characters bickering and while some of the writing was witty and funny it was not that kind of book that made m...
The Good Girl
5 of 5 stars
The Good Girl
by Mary Kubica
I loved this book! It had my interest from the very first page and was my "airplane" book on a recent trip. Author Mary Kubica created believable and interesting characters that the reader learned to identify with and care about. Mi...
All the Light We Cannot See
4 of 5 stars
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
This is quite a book! I had it recommended to me by several people and while I thought it might be a little dark and depressing it made me have a better understanding of what life in this time period was like. The strength of the huma...
An Abundance of Katherines
5 of 5 stars
An Abundance of Katherines
by John Green
Another great book by John Green. I have become a huge fan of John Green since my reading of A Fault in our Stars and this book was another that did not disappoint me at all. It was a story of a child prodigy, a lot of anagrams, and a b...

goodreads.com

Professional Reader
Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Copyright © 2015 It's Just Life, All Rights Reserved.

  • Media Kit, Advertising and Disclosure