We’ve had a long summer at our house. I won’t bore you with the details, but we’ve had a string of medical issues that have made me realize the blessing of good health. Sure, I have my issues – we all do – but when a near-death experience hits close to home, it gives you pause.
So this isn’t a post about a new book or really anything book related. This is a post reminding you, if you are like me and forget sometimes, to cherish every day. Breathe deeply. Be thankful for the little things, and the big. Your heart. Your lungs. Your ability to read and to talk, to think and to love. These are the things we can take for granted, until we don’t have them any longer.
One of my son’s best friends was in a catastrophic accident this spring, leaving him confined to a wheelchair (for now) but determined to make a full recovery. In a blink of an eye it happened. My sister-in-law’s sister, a non-smoker, was recently diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Lung cancer is underfunded because people think all lung cancers are caused by smoking. In fact, non-smokers lung cancer is the fastest growing cancer among women and it is a deadly, diabolical disease. My husband went in for scheduled surgery and contracted the fastest spreading hospital-born superbug, C Diff, and almost died. The wife of a friend, a mother of four, is killed by a distracted driver.
These things and more weigh on your heart. The near-misses, and the direct hits. There are more sorrows to share, but I won’t. We all have them. So feel that breath you take, just now, and treasure it. When life gets busy, try to remember it’s a gift.
All of it.
Every minute of it.