It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year…Isn’t It?

Two days after Thanksgiving our neighbor knocked on our door to deliver some somber news:

The man who lived two houses down had taken his own life.

Radley had told us he woke up in the middle of the night and saw flashing lights outside his window, but since they were gone in the morning, we didn’t give it a second thought.

We didn’t give it a second thought because we were busy cleaning up Thanksgiving since we hosted for 15 people, and the house was a wreck.

We didn’t give it a second thought because a few months ago the house across the street had an electrical fire and seeing fire trucks, police cars, insurance workers, and contractors had become common.

I used to see our neighbor almost every morning running, but I hadn’t recently, and I didn’t give it a second thought.

I spoke to him briefly over the summer, and he seemed out of it, but I was trying to get Scout to nap so I didn’t give it a second thought.

This time of year it’s easy to get stressed out or caught up in the holiday madness. But stop and give someone a second thought. And if you’re having a rough time, stop and give it a second thought.