If I had it to do over again…

… I wouldn’t change a thing.

My life has sometimes been filled with turbulence. At times I felt that I was put on this planet to suffer.

I became a mom way before I planned to… at 21. At the time, the worst thing that ever happened to me. But that little “mistake” has become one of the most prideful events in my life. My Boog made me want to be a mom, which I really didn’t want to be before. And because of her, I now have three more kiddos. And my job as Mom is my favorite thing in the world… and one of the few things I feel I am truly good at doing.

I lost my husband in a car wreck, while seven months pregnant with my Weasel… at 23. At the time, the worst thing that ever happened to me. But that tragedy has helped me become the woman that I am today. I now feel like I can survive anything. I have raised two kids practically on my own. It is still arguably the worst thing that has ever happened to me, but the life I lead now is directly connected to that fateful moment nearly 17 years ago.

So, basically the reason I write this now is to share the lesson I have learned. Too often, bad things happen to good people. But those bad things, as well as the good, help carve us into the people we become. I don’t wish bad things on anyone, but I always try to remember that nothing stays the same for long.

When things are good, make sure you notice. Make sure you cherish those around you, and let them know you cherish them. Take all the good stuff in and etch the images inside your brain, because nothing stays the same for long. And when things are bad, make sure you just hold on. Hold on and focus on the images you etched earlier when things were good, because nothing stays the same for long.

In an old movie 1980 with George Burns called Oh God, Book II, the little girl asked why God lets bad things happen. He replied, “There can’t be good without bad, life without death, pleasure without pain. That’s the way it is. If I take sad away, happy has to go with it.”

And I would rather keep happy, even if I have to keep sad.