Sunday morning held such promise for me.

Despite being a bit under the weather, I was looking forward to finishing up the sports pages from the weekend and settling down to watch the Pro Bowl. I am not a huge fan of the National Football League all-star game, but I wanted to watch it because it may be the last time I ever got to see former Purdue great, and future NFL Hall of Famer Drew Brees play football.

Then came a text from my boss, Ambrosia Neldon, that would change everything.

I had not heard the reports that Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter accident despite having the Pro Bowl pregame in the background. I do not know if I just missed it, or they had not reported it yet. What I do know is that it stopped me in my tracks.

I went from having a good day to being devastated for the remainder of it. I am not the biggest Kobe fan on the planet, but I did respect his game and his accomplishments. He had already cemented his place as an all-time great Los Angeles Laker, as well as one of the greatest players to ever grace a National Basketball League court.

There will never be another Kobe Bryant — he was one of the few players to go straight from high school to the NBA ­— but more than that, Bryant was wise beyond his years. He was a student of the game and its history. He had plans beyond the game of basketball that the lack of having attended college would not stop him from achieving.

All that is good and great, but what turned my day dark was when the news broke that his 13-year-old daughter was also killed in the crash.

Tears flowed on and off throughout the day as I watched the coverage on multiple channels. I listened to former players, teammates and people from all sports, not just basketball, put into words what they were feeling and how tragic the loss of Bryant was.

All I could think about was the amount of loss I have suffered over the past five years. Losing both of my parents, and then losing my wife, Carol, in what seemed like an instant, brought back a flood of memories of those moments.

The other thought that raced through my mind was that I do not know what I would do if I lost my daughter, Kirsten, like that. What if she left for work in the morning never to return? The worst part of losing Carol was not being able to say goodbye.

I can only imagine what Bryant’s wife and daughters are feeling. Losing a spouse is almost too much to bear when you do not get a chance to prepare for it, but losing your daughter in the same instant would be almost too much for me.

My daughter is 13 years older than Bryant’s, but I know they both had the same goals despite the age difference. I am sure Kirsten has big plans for her future, as did Gianna Bryant. Living a long, happy life was probably right at the top of the list.

Life can be cruel. We learn that lesson early and often. It is also fragile. I have said to more than a few people in the nearly two years since Carol’s death that life is short and fleeting. There is no time to waste. Live each day like it is your last.

In the hours of coverage of Bryant’s death, it has become clear that he was going to be as great a dad and businessman as he was a professional basketball player. Bryant was focused on many things that he wanted to do with his life after basketball. One of the ones that may be dealt the biggest blow is his being champion for women’s sports.

With a name like Kobe Bryant, along with the ability to focus and do everything at a high level, I am sure he would have been able to present great opportunities for women. For that, I am also sad that he is no longer with us.

Fathers and daughters can have complicated relationships. They can be complicated even more when she loses a mother, and as a father, you have to try to fill both roles. I hope that I have been able to be there for Kirsten when she has needed me the most, and I can continue to do so.

I would ask each and every one of you to live each day as if it might be your last. Be kind to others. Treat people with the respect they deserve and treasure the time you have with family and friends.

Because you just do not know when that time is going to come to an end.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.