In a Moment

I've learned over the past year how much truth there is in the idea that life can change in an instant. Simple words can change your world in a moment.

"The baby has a ventricular septal defect"

"Your mom has ovarian cancer"

"Something is wrong with Caroline"

All at once, your forever can be altered. 

We anxiously awaited our 18 week ultrasound to find out the sex of our sweet baby to be. Instead, we walked out with the knowledge that she had a heart defect that could potentially need to be fixed with open heart surgery by 10 days old.

We received a text from my dad asking if we wanted to video chat. Moments later he was on the screen telling us that my mom had been diagnosed with late stage Ovarian Cancer as she sat in the background, trying not to cry, telling us that she wasn't scared.

We heard Caroline crying early this morning. I went to pick her up and she was hotter than I had ever felt a person be before. I took her to Clint and couldn't say anything except that something was wrong with our baby girl. I watched the temperature on the thermometer rise to an alarming number. She laid lethargically on the bed. I was sick with worry. This could be the start of a nightmare.

Thankfully, Catherines heart looks like it will be healthy at birth. If not, the surgery she would need boasts a 99% success rate.

Thankfully, my moms cancer was not past the point of at least trying treatment. She is currently three weeks in to an 18 week trial of chemotherapy.

Thankfully, Caroline has begun to feel better with a combination of love and Tylenol. 

Regardless I can't help but think, with all these moments, that I am being shown a path, that I am being taught a lesson. Being reminded of the knowledge that life happens in an instant. To cherish life minute by minute because you never know when it will be altered by an event, a sentence, a phone ringing. I'm learning to not take a day, a minute, a second for granted. Because it all can change in a moment...