Second Chances

I believe in second chances. I believe that while life can take away something wonderful and amazing, it can give you something just as beautiful and extraordinary in return, but you have to be willing to look for it. I also believe that in order to fully appreciate what we have been given in this life, we have to love and respect ourselves and to have the courage to know that we are not in control here. I believe that when tragedy strikes, those that have fallen its victim have a view on the world that no one else has. I love harder, smile bigger, and live fuller because my eyes have been opened to the unimaginable. I no longer let fear get in the way of my dreams. This is not to say that I'm not afraid. I am. When I find something great, I fight that much harder to keep it, because I know what it is like to lose it. What scares me now is losing what is truly precious. Not taking the chance to say what I am feeling. Not letting others know how much I love and appreciate them. Not doing the things I want to do. Not being able to see all the beauty this world has to offer.

 I no longer sweat the small stuff, and I also have very little empathy for those that do. Maybe not the best approach, but that's where I'm at now. Get a bad haircut? Feeling left out of something? Gaining weight? Someone give your car a door ding? Cashier charge you for 2 bags of chips when you only bought one? You didn't finish that race quite as fast as you wanted to? Whatever. Get over it. It isn't really that big of a deal. No one died.

I could never have imagined my life would turn out as it has. But that's all part of not being in control. It would be easy for me to say this has been the year from hell, but that would not be true. There were months of hell, yes, but also months of immeasurable growth. Some really beautiful things have happened to us over the past ten plus months that would not have otherwise happened without our tragic loss. And I know that good things will continue to happen because of the way we are choosing to live. The kids and I have not become angry and bitter and helpless. We have grown. We have not given up. We know that greatness is still out there for us.

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