While I mindlessly scrolled through Twitter updates on my phone last night, I saw a post about a fire truck t-boning a car and killing a 42-year-old woman. I didn't click on the link to find out more. These things happen every day, but for some reason the story stuck with me. I woke up this morning to a bbm message from my husband explaining the details of the crash. She was literally a minute from home, speaking to her child on the phone as she drove (not sure if it was a head-set or not). The phone went dead when she was hit, leaving her child motherless.
Anything can happen to anyone at any time. It's that simple.
All the way to work, I was feeling down because of this story. And I'm really not sure why it affected me so much... Maybe because I'm a parent now. Maybe because my friend Tanya's son Jack no longer has a mother. Maybe because I know one minute you can be on your way home to see your family, and the next you can be gone. BUT........ as the wife of a paramedic, I've learned you have to focus on the GOOD in life, because otherwise the darkness will eat you alive.
And so.... When I arrived at work on the verge of tears, feeling like driving back home and crawling into bed, I sat down and watched the piece my editor put together for me on Friday. It's the story of Gail Van Egmond, who decided one day to lose weight and get healthy so she could be the mom she was supposed to be to her two sons. It's inspirational, and beautiful, and positive. It reminded me that being afraid only wastes time, and living in the moment is not only encouraged, but necessary.
Then my mind wandered to the interview I did on Friday about a man named Trent Kilner, one of the 57 Orphans brought to Canada after the Fall of Saigon in 1975. He is alive, and well, and married to the love of his life with two beautiful children.
Life can bring horror and pain. But it can also bring happiness. And this minute, I'm choosing to focus on happiness.
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