Life Lessons Learned

The last two months have had their up's and down's and major life-changing events. On complete opposite ends of the spectrum of life, the beginning of life of our two beautiful daughters and the end of the life of an amazing friend. As completely different these events are, they have one thing in common. The lessons learned...

Sometimes I just sit and stare at the girls and it brings tears to my eyes. I actually made it 3 days in a row without crying, until yesterday that is. A few days after Suzy passed away Deborah got a phone call on her birthday and when she looked at the caller id, it showed Suzy was calling. At the time, it was quite upsetting as we were all still in shock but thought it was Suzy's way of telling everyone she was ok and wishing Deborah a happy birthday. We didn't ask John (Suzy's husband) about it because he was dealing with so much and it didn't seem important at the time. This week Deborah received another call from Suzy's phone. The next time she talked to John she decided to ask him about it. He laughed and told her the other night he woke up and went to check on Morgan. When he went into her room, the 2 1/2 yr old was not in her bed. He found her sitting in the living room holding the phone. When he asked her what she was doing, she said " Shhh. I'm on the phone Daddy."

So when someone tells you they grow up so quickly, believe it. At any moment, life can change... and it does. There is no slowing it down or speeding it up. If you don't stop and enjoy each moment, it will pass you by and there are no do-overs.

This Sunday was Easter and it is the first time Dusty and I haven't rushed from one family to the next to try to "fit" everyone in on the same weekend. It is the first time in as long as I can remember that after eating lunch with my family that everyone sat down in the living room and spent time together. Granted the conversations were far from normal. (As if anything with my family is ever normal). No, there were no Easter skits (maybe next time) but there was a lot of laughing and smiles in the room. Partially due to the two super cute babies or it could have been the fact that after the Easter egg hunt, the kids opened their eggs and most had gum and an Atomic Fire Ball in them. I think we spent almost an hour trying to figure out who in their right mind would put Atomic Fire Balls in kids Easter eggs. The kids were too scared to try them. Dusty needed a glass of water after only 5 minutes and I (surprisingly) won $20 from a bet with Jeremy that I couldn't finish one.

I don't know where we go on this journey from here, but we shouldn't wait for a life-changing event to realize the importance of family and friends. So don't let the moment pass you by, hug the ones you love and make sure you tell them.