06/06/2021
I wanted to share this post. Such a lesson to not get caught up in the busyness of life and be grateful for all that’s precious in our lives. My Husband and kids will be getting hugged a little harder today ❤️
I’m going to love them a little harder…
This morning I woke up at 4:45 a.m. I made myself a hot cup of coffee, sat on my screened-in porch, and took the morning in.
I listened to the birds waking up and chirping. I listened to the sound of our neighbor’s sprinklers as they watered the grass and flowers. I listened to a few dogs greeting each other in the distance. I watched the morning light as it peeked over the horizon slowly replacing the darkness of the sky and how it made the dew on the morning grass glisten in my backyard.
I watched, listened, and took in the dawn of a new day…
I couldn’t help but think how much of my life I take for granted. I try to be mindful and remind myself how truly grateful I am, but life gets busy and stressful, chaotic and exhausting, and somewhere in the midst of it I sometimes lose sight of the big picture. I lose sight of the little things... precious things that matter the most to me.
Yesterday, my husband was in a horrible car accident.
He hydroplaned at 65 mph between a semi-truck and guardrail and was hurled into a 360-degree spin in the middle of an Interstate. With angels on his side, he walked away from a mangled car with only a few minor bumps and bruises. The back half of the car was missing, windows shattered, debris scattered across the length of a football field… it’s a miracle he’s alive today.
As I sat on my porch with tears streaming down my cheeks, I thought about how different this morning might have been. How swiftly life can change. How, in an instant, our world can shift and, just like that, everything could be different.
I thought about how those we love can be taken away from us without warning and how grateful I was that my husband and three children were safe and sound asleep in their beds at that very moment.
I thought about how I ran out to the car before my husband pulled away because I wanted to give him one more kiss before he left. I thought about how he smiled and said, “Didn’t we just do this?” I thought about how I stood in the driveway and watched him pull away not realizing that it might have been the last time I hugged and kissed the most important man in my life.
I thought about how God sometimes puts challenges in our path to remind us of what’s really important, how this event impacted me, and what positives I might take away from the experience. Mostly, I thought about how it changed me.
As hard as I love my family, I’m going to love them even harder.
As hard as I try to be present in their lives, I’m going to make it more of a priority.
As hard as I try to be the wife and mom my family needs, to give them all I have, to be there for them, and tell them “I love you” often – so often that my kids roll their eyes, sigh and say “Geez, mom,” and my husband says, “Didn’t we just do this?” – I’m going to say it more, hug them more and remind them more how much they mean to me.
As hard as I try to remain grateful for every new morning, I’m going to try even harder because yesterday was a harsh (and perhaps even a beautiful) reminder that life is so very precious and that tomorrow is never promised. ❤
*** I want to thank you ALL for your outpouring of support, love, concern and compassion. I am so very appreciative and humbled. It’s amazing to read all the heartfelt comments and personal stories (some so heartbreaking they brought me to tears). It’s such a reminder to me what a wonderful and supportive community we have built together here. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
