Life's Most Important Lesson

Today was a difficult and emotion filled day for me. Today would have been my grandmother's birthday, who we lost just a few short months ago. This was our first birthday without her, after spending our first Christmas without her as well. Yes, those firsts are always the most difficult and pain filled.

Although, I must say, I don't believe that her loss will be felt any less next year, or for that matter, even the year after. You see, she was the shining light of my life. I think you can understand. I think we all have that one person in our lives who shines the most brightly, who stands out in our hearts and minds, who guides us to the person who we strive to be. This was my grandmother to me.

It brings to mind so many thoughts to me. One of the things about my grandmother that stands out the most to me was the value that she placed on family. There was nothing that she wouldn't do for her family - at any sacrifice or cost. Because she valued her family so much, she also valued the time that we all spent together, as did we all.

When you lose somebody important to you - you begin to feel that value even more so. You begin to realize how limited our time is, and you value that time so much more and you make a more concerted effort to spend more time with the people you love and who are important to you.

But why does it always seem to take the loss of a loved one to stop us from taking our other loved ones for granted? Why does it take tragedy for us to realize that the daily routine of life and the responsibilities and monotony are simply a trap that we become caught up within?

We stop taking our loved ones for granted and we reach out and embrace what is truly important in life. However, before too long, we become caught in that trap once again. The conscious effort that we had been making begins to slip through the cracks, becoming caught up in the weight of responsibilities, to do lists, and schedules. We then become trapped in this routine, until yet another tragedy befalls us, reminding us of the frailty of our too short lives and making us realize that every moment that we have is a gift.

I hope that I can follow my grandmother's example of life's most important lesson, to place my family and loved ones above all else, and to never forget that they are what makes life worth living.

I hope that you too, can wake each day and take nothing for granted!