Words Above Ground

It was chilling to see and read a letter written by a dying miner, noting his awareness of his impending death just a few breaths away from a self-described painless death. I was glad that he had the paper, pencil(my luck would have been having a pen but it being out of ink!) and state of mind to write and that he did not have to suffer except for the torment of knowing there was nothing you could do to save yourself from the sleep soon approaching. As I read the story, I wondered what I would have written to my loved ones 2 miles above ground. Knowing I had only a short time left, how would I condense my words to be clear, positive and meaningful for each member of my family, knowing they would be cherished and kept for years to come? Wondering about this is a good exercise/life review and it leads me to want to make sure I am saying these words now, while I am still above ground. What would you have written? miners mining tragedy