|| 6 || Health. Always Taken For Granted.

I was supposed to post this post last week { again. running a week behind on this gratitude challenge thing } but life seemed to just get in the way of sitting down and blogging. typical.

 

When I first decided to jump ahead on this gratitude challenge and discuss why I was thankful for health I was going to focus on myself and how I was thankful I made it through all my health challenges last year - with scars { literally } but I made it through. I thought it would be a good idea to talk about it since may is melanoma awareness month and I wanted to urge everyone to take the time this month to go to the dermatologist to get checked.   ....seriously, though - go get your body looked at... I was ready to explain and talk about how years of baking in the sun and tanning beds probably led to it.  And I will still say that no tanning bed is good and you may think that a good burn will turn into a good tan, but there is no such thing as a "good burn" and to wear sunscreen. But right now I just don't feel led to talk about how I am thankful for my health.

 

but I just read the news that my sweet friend from high school is having one last test done on her 3 week old before they put her on the heart transplant list. her 3 week old is suffering from heart failure. it just puts everything into perspective for me. I am healthy. my husband is healthy. I have a healthy, happy, beautiful daughter. who may have been cranky this weekend since she was cutting 3 teeth, but she was not in the ICU fighting for her life surrounded by my family. 

 

I feel like we take for granted our health and we just assume that our kids are immune to bad things and then WHAM they just hit us or someone close to us it hit with something hard.  My heart hurts for my friend and her family and her sweet baby girl.  It makes me want to hug McKenna just a little tighter each night and get less frustrated with her when she feed her cheerios and strawberries to the dogs.

 

I have a happy and healthy family and baby girl and grandparents for her to grow up with and brother and extended family. For that. I am so very very thankful.  And yes, I am thankful that my husband urged me to go to the dermatologist, if it was not for him my melanoma would still be on my back doing who knows what. I am thankful that it was caught early; after all, early detection really does save lives.

 

So if you have like .349885 seconds to spare. Just send a good prayer up or good thoughts or whatever you do in tough times for my friend and her family.  And hug your family a little tighter and tell them how much they mean to you. Because you could be hit with your wham moment at any time.