Unexpected Results
Monday, Jul. 09, 2007 6:40 PM

"I gave you everything you needed,
everything and more,
but you stabbed me in the back;
left me bleeding on the floor.

I'm not saying I want to forget you,
but damn it I have tried.
And these memories are killing me
and it's digging me inside."

- O.A.R.

I found out today that a childhood friend of mine has been battling cancer. She starts another round of chemotheraphy soon to see if it will help, but the prognosis isn't good. Basically, her mother told my mother that they're not expecting her to live much longer.

Did I know 25 years ago that a friend from my youth was going to be battling for her life? Did she know? We were clueless back then, gazing into the future and filling it up with childhood dreams. We skipped through life always with a hopeful outlook thinking the other would end up living to a ripe old age.

And yet, here we are almost 30 years later. She's planning her life around her impending death. I'm planning my life around a future I'm no longer certain will be there in ten years.

It is moments like this that I realize how much in life I take for granted, how unappreciative I am of the good in my life. I have to remind myself that there's more to life than falling in love, having children, and growing old. I have to remind myself that only this moment matters... this second, this day. And while I may not run off to live the most exciting life imaginable because of this realization, I definitely need to start changing my attitude about life.

.....................................

All of it, the news about Megan, the memories about my family and friends... You truly never know what hand life is going to deal you, where you're going to end up, and how you're going to go about getting there. You may think you know, but do you really?

I always find, that in the end, the results are unexpected.