In the 2009 film “Zombieland,” Jesse Eisenberg’s character, Columbus, has a set of rules he follows in order to survive in Zombieland.

Rule #32 is “Enjoy the little things,” which the characters in the film frequently do in order to relieve stress and remind themselves they have one another.

I was reminded of this rule last Thursday when I got a phone call that I had been expecting for about a month. My dad called me as I was driving home from campus and told me that my great-grandmother, Victoria Madeline Bednarz Rigg, had passed away at age 96. The news didn’t come with much shock, since Vicky had been in hospice care since mid-September.

However, it was still tragic to hear the news. Since I always try to find some sort of silver lining in every situation, I looked for one in this case and found one rather fast. I was told that my Uncle Jim (Vicky’s oldest child) and Aunt Lea, who recently moved to Florida, arrived back in town just in time to rush with my grandparents to the nursing home in Augusta where Vicky lived for 10 years. The silver lining, if you can call it that, in my great-grandmother’s passing was that she was able to die peacefully, with all of her children and their spouses by her bedside.

Her death has reminded me to always enjoy the little things in life. I don’t mean to sound corny, but that includes enjoying time with your family. We all live and we all die, eventually, so never forget that when you are with family. Don’t let menial things that might anger you take over your life — live and let live.

The same is true with friends. Enjoy spending time with your friends as often as you can. Spending time with friends is a great way to relieve stress and makes life more bearable.

Do not take advantage of anyone. Enjoy the times spent with those close to you. Always enjoy the small things in life, because someday, you’ll realize they were, in fact, the big things.