Blink

It happens that fast. In a blink of an eye, life can, and does, turn on a dime. I have been watching and reading about the horrific Metrolink crash in Chatsworth and the devastation that hurricane Ike has left behind and am brought to tears thinking of how quickly peoples' lives have changed because of these two tragic events.

For too many people, their lives ended in a blink of an eye. They were unsuspecting, simply going about their daily lives, when it was brought to a tragic end. No good-byes, no preparation, no last words. These were husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, friends, girlfriends, boyfriends and those who loved them are left to pick up the pieces and figure out how to live life without them, when instead, they should be enjoying the weekend together.

Blink...that fast, it all changed for these people. And it can for you, for me, any minute, any day.

Tonight I gave the girls baths and then got them ready for bed, as I do every night. As I was lathering them up with lotion, I stopped to really look at their sweet little hands and feet. I counted the silvery-white scars that stand out with their summer tans. Four on this hand, six on this foot, five on this ankle, three on the inside of this arm. They are the only visual physical reminders we have of the girls' early birth, of their daily struggle to live. For me, now more than ever, they are a reminder of the gift these two girls are...that every day of the last 748 days has been a gift. For all of us, each day that we are able to get up, breathe a breath of fresh air, kiss our loved ones, and LIVE...is a gift. Which is why I thank Him, tonight, and every night, for another day with my family, my friends, my loving husband, and my sweet little girls...and pray that He holds those people close, who have lost loved ones, and allows them to feel and know His loving embrace, now more than ever before.