The Last Time You See Them?
The moments we assume are ordinary are often the ones we’ll wish we could get back.
We assume there will always be another visit. Another Thanksgiving. Another Christmas. But what if there isn’t?
The Math of Time We Don’t Want to Do
Many of us will see loved ones this week we haven’t seen in months or even years. We show up, eat the meal, take the group photo, and tell ourselves there will be more time.
But simple math tells a different story.
I am forty-nine. My dad passed away two and a half years ago, which means I don’t get any more holidays with him. That reality still catches me off guard.
My mom is in her late seventies. I’m fortunate that she lives down the street and that we work together. She’s my business partner in my real estate brokerage company and continues to be our company’s highest producing real estate agent. I get to see her often.
But many of my friends see their parents only once or twice a year. Their parents are at a similar age as mine. If they are lucky, that means they may see them twenty more times in their lifetime. Realistically, probably fewer.
When you look at it that way, the number hits hard. It forces the question: Is that enough?
And if not, what would it look like to make more time?
Awareness Changes Everything
I think about my dad a lot this time of year.
The last holidays we had together were quieter. He moved slower. He listened more. But he was still the dad who believed in me, who loved seeing my life grow, who took pride in every tiny win. I didn’t know those would be our last holidays together.
Looking back, I wish I had sat next to him longer. Asked more questions. Told him more often how much he shaped the way I see the world.
I don’t carry regret. I carry perspective.
There is a kind of gratitude that comes from comfort. But there is a deeper gratitude that comes from awareness. The awareness that time is moving whether we pay attention or not. That the people around our table will not always be.
When you understand that, something shifts inside you.
Moments feel sharper. Time feels more valuable. Presence becomes easier.
Because you start to realize that the most ordinary moments often become the most meaningful ones.
The Stories We’ll Miss If We’re Not There to Hear Them
Last month, I traveled with my mom to Pittsburgh for my uncle’s ninetieth birthday. Jana and our boys came with us, and they met relatives they had only heard about in stories.
Two conversations from that weekend have stayed with me. Both were with my uncles who are in their nineties. And both conversations, surprisingly, were about money.
Uncle Tony, the king of deals, told my boys about his legendary flea market finds. Growing up, his stories were family classics. He clipped coupons, timed his purchases perfectly, and sometimes walked out of the store with both the product and cash back in his hand - weekly special combined with double coupon day for the win!
At the birthday party, Uncle Tony told my boys about getting a one-hundred-sixty-dollar power saw for thirty dollars. He’s 90 and had a stroke years ago, so he probably shouldn’t be using a power saw. But that wasn’t the point.
He wasn’t chasing possessions. He was chasing joy, the thrill of the deal. The satisfaction of being resourceful.
Then there was Uncle Bill. He is 92 years old, he’s active and his mind continues to be sharp. He talked to my boys about coin collecting. He taught them how to find rare coins, why patience pays off, and how value builds over time.
Neither uncle is financially rich by modern standards. Both are wealthy in every way that matters.
Sharp. Content. Full of life. Their secret is simple: they built their lives around relationships.
Uncle Tony still cares for his wife, Mary, of sixty years.
Uncle Bill has been married nearly seventy years. He has four kids, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. For decades he has given each grandchild a collector coin set every year. A small act that became a family tradition. A memory that will outlive him.
Their lives are rich because they built connection and consistency over time.
That is real wealth.
Cherish the Time While You Still Can
During that same Pittsburgh trip, I saw most of my cousins on both sides of my family. The one I was closest with growing up, Anthony, is my age. Anthony is Uncle Tony’s son, like any good Italian family you can’t have too many Anthony’s. Anthony and I grew up playing together every Sunday at my grandmother’s house.
We realized it had been nineteen years since we last saw each other. The last time we saw each other was at my grandmother’s funeral. It was nobody’s fault. Life just moves fast. Work, schedules, years piling on top of years.
But that realization hit hard. Nineteen years is nearly half our lives. So we promised not to let another decade slip by.
Moments like that remind me why this matters. Life isn’t about collecting more stuff. It’s about collecting more moments. Moments become memories. Memories become stories.
Stories become how your family knows who they are.
Presence is how we pass down values. Presence is how we show love. Presence is how we build a life we don’t look back on with regret.
And presence only happens when we understand how limited our time really is.
One Question I Can’t Ignore
If this were one of the last times I see someone I love, would I act differently?
Because if the answer is yes, then the time to act differently is now.
💡 Your Turn + Start Bold
Who do you need to see again before it is too late?
Start Bold (Simple First Steps):
Pick up the phone this week and schedule a visit, not just a call.
Ask your parents, grandparents, or mentors to share one story that shaped their life.
Capture it. Record it, write it down, and pass it forward.
You don’t just inherit money. You inherit wisdom, resilience, and love. Don’t miss your chance to collect those while you still can.
And when you sit down to your Thanksgiving meal, take one quiet moment to look around the table. Be grateful not for what is on it, but for who is around it.
That is the kind of wealth that lasts.
Why We Build BOLD Wealth
This is also why I talk about money the way I do. We build financial wealth so we can live aligned with what matters, not so we can chase more stuff.
And during a week like Black Friday, that reminder carries extra weight.
Most of the deals you see are designed to distract you into spending more than you save. They pull your attention toward things and away from people. But this season is not about accumulation. It is about awareness.
Spend intentionally. Invest in memories, not clutter. Use money to create time and connection, not stress.
And remember this:
Every dollar you don’t waste is a dollar you can use to visit the people you love, take the trip you’ve been putting off, or create a memory your kids will talk about for the rest of their lives.
That is real wealth.
Thank You
As we head into the holidays, I’m grateful you are here. Grateful you are reading, learning, and building a richer life alongside me. Thank you for being part of this BOLD Wealth community.
I don’t take it for granted.
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Memories become stories.
Stories become how your family knows who they are.
Presence is how we pass down values. Presence is how we show love. Presence is how we build a life we don’t look back on with regret.
And presence only happens when we understand how limited our time really is.
👏
You know I love this. Psalm 90:12. Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Well said
Love you😘