Have a great day...

It is with a heavy heart that I compose this post tonight. It is a very sad day in my little hometown of Owatonna, MN. They have lost a wonderful woman, the wife of a good friend, the mother of 2 beautiful girls, a dear friend to many and one of the strongest fighters I have ever been blessed to know. She battled the "big C" for what seems like decades and she was finally called home to be with God this afternoon.

In reading through he caring bridge journal, which she started back in 2009, there were many things that resonated with me. 1. Her strength and optimism. Even at her worst, you would never know just how bad it was by reading. She wrote about getting back to work and living life. Loving life and what her plans were. 2. She ended every post with her signature line BStrong (friends and family called her B). So fitting being B is/was one of the strongest people any one who knew her knew. And 3, every post she said "Have a great day/night/weekend/holiday etc". Something about reading that little line over and over really got me thinking.

Her journal is nothing like the one you are reading now. She was fighting the battle of her life, literally. Not knowing how much time she had left, not knowing what her next PET scan would reveal or if her numbers would be where they needed to be. And yet, she told us, the readers, who aren't battling a deadly disease, who aren't living lives within the hospital walls, who aren't wondering IF we're going to see our daughters go to prom or IF we'll make it to our 40th, 50th or 60th Birthdays. She took the time to tell us to "have a great day.". Yet, her days were probably worse than any one of us could possibly fathom. I can't help but think that little line is more than just a cordial way to close out a journal entry. She is telling us we need to have a GREAT LIFE! Because we're not battling a disease, we're not up against a clock, our days are number but nothing like hers were. It's time to have a great life now.

I am so guilty of telling myself "I'll be happy when...", as I am sure many of you can say the same. I'll be happy when I graduate from high school, when I graduate from college, when I find my dream job, when I find a nice boyfriend, when I get engaged, when I get married, when we have a child, when God answers my prayers. But why can't we just be happy now? I'm healthy, I have a job, I have great friends and family. I'm not fighting for my life, so I might as well start living it happily. It is such a sad day for anyone who had the pleasure of knowing B. But she is no longer suffering. She's living a great life in eternity. And for that we can be thankful, celebrate her life and doing as she had told us to do... B STRONG B HAPPY and...

Have a great night....

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is though nothing is a miracle. The other is though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein