life changing moments

Everyone has a few moments scattered throughout their life that completely and utterly change absolutely everything you know and think.  These moments make you re-prioritize, change direction, behave differently, and alter the way you think. Sometimes they are catastrophic; sometimes they aren't.  Maybe the moment brings joy; maybe it doesn't. They are the moments when the entire world stops. It's as if you are wearing blinders. Nothing and no one around you matters or even seems to exist.  Your world is turned upside down and you are left  with a million thoughts racing through your head but no words for how you feel.

I always hear people say "I know just what I was doing and where I was when insert event here." All of us can say we remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when the planes hit the towers on September 11th.  That was a day that changed everything for so many people - a horrific event that affected everyone. The same is true for when JFK was assassinated and various other historic events.

For some, April 15th will always be tax day, which is what the date always was to me...up until last year at least. On April 15, 2009 that all changed.  The date no longer signifies taxes are due.  Now, I think only about the life changing moment that hit me like a freight train.  I went to work just as I always did. Turned on my computer and began typing away at a proposal.  The only thing different about this day is that my eyes were glued to the clock watching each minute tick away.  I constantly checked my phone to make sure I hadn't missed a call and intentionally turned the ringer from vibrate to loud.  Sometimes when a life changing moment happens you have no idea it is coming. This was not the case for my moment. I knew I was getting news that day.

The week before my mom called me and told me she had found a lump in her breast.  I, being the cry baby I am, cried. She reassured me it was nothing to worry about and we'd know in a week the results from the biopsy.  Minutes kept ticking away and still no word from my mom.  With a few hours left in the day I decided to give her a call and find out what the doctor said.  Maybe this really was nothing to worried about and was such an insignificant thing that my mom just forgot to call me.  I dialed her number, but she didn't answer.  Jim, my step dad, did.  This was out of the ordinary. I knew instantly by the sound of his voice that something wasn't right.

Finding out that my mom, the person who I basically thought was invincible, had cancer was the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with.  It's been over a year since we got the news, and I am happy to report that after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation my mom is cancer free and healthy.  It was a long journey with many bumps along the way.  We've stuck together and thanks to her strength, hope, courage and positive outlook we've gotten to the place we are today.

One of the things I've learned through all this is that everything does happen for a reason. I am closer to my family than ever before. I try not to take them or anything else in my life for granted, because I really am quite lucky and blessed. I also realized life is too short not to be happy every minute of everyday. When everything changes in a minute you realize what is important and what matters most to you. It is those things we should focus our time and energy on.  I urge myself and everyone reading this to reevaluate our lives and make sure they are the best they can be with no regrets.