Life is Far Too Short to Be Taken for Granted

In life we all have things we take for granted. For some of us it might be our spouse or our parents or our job. It could be anything really if you think about it. Why do we do this? Do we just assume that we can because someone or something will be around forever and so we don't need to worry about it? I've recently had a wake-up call and I'm sort of glad that I did.

I'm sure most everyone who reads this will know about facebook. Even if you don't have an account you have probably heard something about it at one time or another. I've been able to find a lot of old friends on there and also a lot of people that I went to school with. It has been very good for me in the respect that it has made me take a step back and look at my life and how I react to things.

In March a girl that I didn't really know lost a baby. I knew her from an online mom's group, but I hadn't been a member for some time so I really didn't think about this person. I now think about her daily. She lost her sweet baby girl at 18 months. You hear about SIDS, but rarely do you hear of someone losing a baby at 18 months with no known cause. I am so very sorry for her loss and I hate that it sometimes takes things like this to happen to make you wake up. I have two kids and there are days when I just want to pull my hair out. I can say that I have honestly done a complete turn around after hearing her story. I never really yelled at my kids, but I did from time to time. What mom doesn't? I now find myself doing it even less. I find myself taking more time to do things with them. I used to let my husband put them to bed each night since he didn't get to see them much during the day. If they'd ask me to lie down with them I'd always tell them Daddy was going to. I'd then sneak off to get on the computer or curl up with a good book. I now find myself taking the time to lie with them if they ask me. How do I know that won't be the last time that I see them? It's a horrible thought, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life regretting that I didn't take the time with them I should have.

The other wake-up call for me is that a classmate of mine just passed away last month. She had cancer. One of her best friends who also has cancer was just told to call Hospice. She isn't going to make it either. These girls are 34 years old. I didn't know either one of them that well in school, but can you imagine? I really can't. We sit around and mope about little things in life when there are people who are our age dealing with far bigger issues than we are.

I feel that as I get older I also get a little wiser. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part! I'm trying to remind myself to not curse the rain or the heat or whatever else it might be at that time. Instead I want to be thankful for it. I am thankful that I get to walk in the rain, that I have that option when others don't.