A Hero Amongst Us

This past weekend one of my very best friends was involved in a life altering accident. Coming home from a fun night out, the car they were driving careened off the freeway flipping three times. Through the midst of this tragedy, my friend’s life partner, threw his body over hers to protect her from any harm coming her way. The car finally skid to a terrifying stop. Silence filled the air. My friend threw herself out of the car to run to the other side to see if the love of her life was indeed ok. As she approached the other side of the vehicle, she knew at that exact moment that things would be different. The paramedics took him out of the car and rushed him into surgery to begin the repair of facial fractures and many other serious injuries he sustained. He currently sits in critical condition with brain swelling amidst a hundred other things. 

When my friend shared this horrific story, it reminded me of something that is so simple but seems to be incredibly difficult. It’s a small tragedy that each of us will go through at some point in our lives.  In a blink of an eye, everything we have ever come to know – love or  hate – can change. That’s it. In one split fucking second a moment can alter life as we have come to know it. People we love can be gone before we can say a word. Goals and dreams can be dashed without warning. 

A story like this puts everything into crystal clear perspective. And all of us need to cut it out. Stop taking loved ones for granted.  Stop being mean or short. No more holding grudges.  No judging.  No criticizing. Just cut it out. All of it.

Yet it seems so difficult to look at all we have, and realize in the blink of an eye, it could vanish.  I believe, and will always believe, that we see what we want to see. The faults we once found attractive become something we despise in those we love. The jokes we used to laugh at come at annoyance. The once awesomeness and dedication becomes an old memory.

Look, trust me when I say I understand how terrible people can be. I’ve been both the asshole and the person that was put down as many of us in life have been. Be grateful for everyone that has at some point been put in your life. Too often we take those closest to us for granted. Too often we focus on the flaws that other people have and not the strengths they’ve blessed our lives with. 

I did something I’ve never done before. I wrote down the names of ten people that I felt had wronged me, or I didn’t like very much. I thought about each individual I had jotted down and wrote three things about them I liked. Each person, whether they ever know it or not, taught me some kind of lesson I will be eternally grateful for.

Tell those that mean the world to you how much they mean to you. Tell them you love them. Hug them, do stupid things with them. Live your life as if today is the last day you’ll spend with them.  I know that I’m going to give my two little babies the biggest hug and kiss whether they want it or not the next time I see them.

To my dear friend Amber, thank you for showing me we all make mistakes but we love anyways. We know the mistakes of those closest to us because we know more about them then anyone else. Love them for their flaws, love them for everything special they do in our lives, and love them for the many blessing s they bring to your life.

To Chris, you have a support system way beyond anything you could ever imagined. Be the fighter you are and give it everything you got. For someone that throws his or her body over another’s is nothing short of a real life hero. Thank you for showing us that heroes still exist.