There’s an action you’ll take today that could be your last.

When the holidays creep closer on the calendar, we conjure ghosts of the last.

The last Thanksgiving with a loved one. Or a friend. A favorite pet.

A last Christmas with a spouse or child headed off to college, and you wonder if he or she will come home again for the holidays.

What is life? But a series of firsts and lasts. As we age, the tables turn to where the lasts outnumber the firsts. And that’s where wonder goes to die.

Don’t let it happen.

So, it’s up to us alone to shift the laws of the Universe. A big but achievable job. We must rethink, reinvent, and circle the lasts back to firsts.

But how?

Look at the same old things with new eyes: When I watch my puppies sleep together, all huddled and close, I think of it as the last time I’ll see them fighting for space on the same bed. I linger and appreciate the special scene. Any day, I know this space will be empty, and I want to relish every moment. I switch the last into a first. I’m happy, grateful, and mindful of the honor of caring for them.

Take the extra step: In the rush of the day, step back, text or call someone, and communicate how much you appreciate or love them. How grateful you are. No big fuss. A few words then on with the day. This exercise scares your last moment and emboldens your first. In my head and most important, my heart, I feel the last move up to a first. Every word embraces me and anchors a stronger memory. A deep appreciation. Freezing moments is a great way to turn your inevitable lasts into perpetual firsts.

Thanksgiving is a great opportunity: to rearrange lasts and firsts. Look around the table, and take a snapshot for your mind’s eye. Who may be with us next year is out of our control. Who is with us this year acts as a marker for a memory, a smile. A first.

And that’s all you need to do to create stronger circles. Ones that will keep you warm and less alone when inevitably, the last arrives.

Remember. Never forget: Lasts can blossom into Firsts. They’re a necessary evil and yet a blessing. And nobody can take that gift, that metamorphosis, from you.

And with a last breath, these moments will exhale a first.