Erica Rakow

wife + momma 👧🏼👶🏼🐶 + South FL native, early morning journalist @WPTV #AMcrew "Give people a piece of your heart rather than your mind."

[Vitaliy Katsenelson @vitaliyk]

Time feels different at 52 than at 25. My kids don’t need help tying their shoes anymore. There’s a quiet shift when you realize you’ve gone from being their entire world to becoming a chapter in their expanding life.

My father passed a few years ago. My mom passed when I was eleven. I live with the unfortunate truth of knowing exactly how many more moments I’ll have with them, and the number is zero.

I’d trade everything I’ve earned for one more hour with them.

Seneca said "Life isn’t short, we just waste it." I’ve wasted plenty. I’ve rushed when I should have slowed down. I’ve attended meetings that drained life instead of adding value. I’ve said yes when I should have kindly said no.

Marcus Aurelius said: “You could leave life right now.” One day you’ll wake up for the last time and not know it. That doesn’t depress me. It sharpens me. It brings everything into focus.

Mortality shows up quietly: a child outgrowing a phase, laughter at the dinner table evolving into deeper conversations, friends moving away as life reshuffles itself, opportunities you once assumed would always be there slowly fading.

I’m not trying to optimize every second. That’s a stress trap. I’m choosing what matters.

If I don’t want to spend time with someone, I don’t.
If something drains me, I drop it.
If I’m tired, I rest.
If one of my kids wants to talk, I close the laptop.
When I care, I go deep.

And here’s the upside: when I spend time with someone, they know I truly want to be there. I show up with more presence, more patience, more warmth. I connect more honestly. I feel more like myself because everything I’m doing is aligned with who I choose to be. I’m living by design, not by inertia.

I’ve lost money. I’ve made bad decisions. Money is replaceable, time isn’t.

Many people talk about urgency and clarity that mortality brings. My perspective is different: don’t treat time as a motivator — use it as a filter.

If I had ten good years left instead of forty, I wouldn’t retreat from life. I’d let go of more nonsense. I’d keep fewer grudges. I’d be slower to irritation and quicker to laughter.

Mortality is a filter. It quietly asks:
Is this how you want to spend today?
Is this conversation worth having?
Is this relationship worth nurturing?
Is this work worthy of your life-force?

I’ve had the very human misfortune of attending many funerals over the years. Don’t wait for tragedy to wake you up to what you already know.

The reminders are around you: in your relationships, your aging body, your memories, the irreplaceable moments that slip by unless you notice them.

“You have two lives, and your second life starts when you realize you only have one.”
– Confucius

[Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office @MiamiDade_SO]

The Annual Pinning Ceremony provides surviving families an opportunity to honor the memory of their fallen hero by pinning a flower on the floral badges. #NeverForget

[Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office @MiamiDade_SO]

#HappeningNow: The Rider-Less horse being presented by the @NorthMiamiPD. The tradition signifies the loss of the Warrior who rode off to battle on horseback and never returns home, like so many officers who head out on patrol and never return. #NeverForget

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

Sick to my stomach.

[Spectrum News 13 @MyNews13]

#Breaking — A Spectrum News 13 reporter and photographer were shot at the scene of a homicide investigation. One has died, according to the sheriff. https://t.co/xMCKBfUlO1

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@mitzi4bay @LeeSchools @Kathleen4SWFL Great advice. Husfelt is the absolute best.

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

This is horrific 😒

[Carmine Marceno - Lee County Sheriff @SheriffLeeFL]

This morning Sheriff Carmine Marceno took a tour of Lee County to begin assessing damage caused by Hurricane Ian.
We are devastated. Our hearts go out to every resident who is impacted. The Lee County Sheriffs Office is mobile and will stop at nothing to help our residents.

[Matt Devitt @MattDevittWX]

Storm surge got into our WINK studios in Fort Myers, flooded the entire first floor. Lost power and was unable to continue broadcasting on tv/radio. No timetable on return to air. #Ian was the strongest hurricane in Southwest Florida history. Widespread destruction heading home.

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@ama8189 LOL

[Miami Beach Police @MiamiBeachPD]

Today we remember Officer Scott R. Rakow.

EOW: June 30, 1988
#NeverForget

[Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office @MiamiDade_SO]

#HappeningNow: The 41st Annual Miami-Dade Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Ceremony. Join us as we pay tribute to all federal, state and local law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving #OurCounty. #NeverForget

LIVE: https://t.co/MabUsnASCD

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@MJ_Reports @ActionNewsJax You go girl! Very proud of you! I loved living there and working in that market. Enjoy your time there!

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@ama8189 @stearman65 He would

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@sonjaisger I just sent you an email. Can you follow me back and I will also DM you?

[Bobby J @RJAIU]

Scott your Daughter and grandchildren are amazing you be proud of all of them you are missed but never forgotten

[Miami Beach Police @MiamiBeachPD]

We will never forget Detective Scott R. Rakow. EOW: June 30, 1988 ⚫️🔵⚫️
https://t.co/aA2bijM96I

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@mimmel99 Thank you!

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

Meet the newest little man of my dreams, Price Lee 💚

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@presidentflori5 Thank you!!!!

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@marksamuelian Thank you so much!! 💙

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@teddynt Thank you!!!!

[Erica Rakow @EricaRakow]

@AndrewLevine5 Thanks Andrew!! 💙