Life Lessons # 4 - Life Altering Events

"When you come to the edge of all the light you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, either there will be something solid for you to stand on, or you will fly." Patrick Overton

So now we have Life Altering Events -- This will post will not be as long as the other posts in the "Life Lessons" series this week. We all these buggers in our lives at various times. No way to get around them. They can be as far ranging as a death, an illness, or a birth. The "life-altering" part is up to each individual to define. The loss, by death or separation, of a loved one is always held very close to each of our hearts and souls. The way we deal with it is another matter. I will say, in all instances, the loss of a child ranks as the top loss, followed by spouse, mother, etc. Here are two of my life-altering events:

(1) The first traumatic one for me was the loss of my mother. Shortly after her death in October of 1998, I met a woman at a party whom I did not know. However, she ended up being the "messenger" and explained to me why the mother's loss was traumatic for the child. She stated that the mother is the giver, the nurturer, the one you always turn to. She explained the death of this parent would be more difficult than the father (he died in March of 2000). She was right. My mom was a registered nurse who retired at 65 and at 67 had a massive stroke. She lived five years in the nursing home and then died suddenly. This was the last photo taken of her with her sister (my Aunt Mary). Two of her siblings were visiting from California and it ended up that the only two people who had to fly in for the funeral was my brother and me. Hmmm, she always planned stuff out and maybe, in the grander scheme of things, did this one too.

Mother (on the left) and Aunt Mary is the photo that you see in the blog banner and one of my fav photos that I use all of the time.... Sisters forever.

2) My brother is maybe the only person I know who would show up with his camera in the ICU. I swear, there was a time, in that room, that I was really ready to jump out of that hospital bed and beam him with his camera. Hello, my hair is sticking straight up. This was taken two days after my open heart surgery to replace a bum aortic valve. OK, he was also the one who said, "don't go into the light" as they were wheeling me in for surgery. OK, baby bro... you were pushing it then because I was flirting with the male nurse and my brother is distracting me! Geez.....

OK, back to the post, this was a life-changing event. Prior to the surgery I was so tired I could barely climb to the third floor to get into my two-story condo. By the grace of God (and I mean that sincerely) I had started working out with a personal trainer on July 4, 2001 (and still have him to this day). This is one reason my heart was strong and was able to recover so quickly. The doctors didn't have a clue how I was able to even walk around with the valve as damaged as it was. Ahhh, it just wasn't my time. And I'm happy to report that I had so much energy after this surgery - wooooohooooo - I still thank God for my recovery and the blessing of energy that came with this event.

Yes, in the summer time you will usually find me on the tennis courts 5 days out of 7. It has been a blessing that little titanium valve. Following the recovery, I began to get into more artistic endeavors besides just scrapbooking that I was involved with. I started traveling and went to Germany, Paris, London, and Estonia. Life is short, enjoy it to the fullest. To end this ramble, I am borrowing a quote from a friend's post today on FaceBook (thank you Cindy, sorry I didn't ask before copying it here):

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, ...let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it." - Author Unknown.

Here's to you baby brother (whom I very proud of - but don't tell him...) My favorite song he wrote is God Knew Your Name. You can listen to it here.