Like Daughter - 13

It's nice to stop and smell the roses. I just hate when something bad has to happen in order to force you to do so.

When I got diagnosed, I just lived my life as I saw fit. It had to happen the way I wanted it, mainly because if I stopped, then my thoughts would take over and drive me insane. Even now, being post-treatment and living life on a six-months-ahead basis, I still have to keep myself busy at times or else I will daydream myself into an anxious frenzy. There are days, though, when I feel like I need time to just blank out.

What really irks me, though, is that a lot of the time something really bad has to happen to punch you in the gut and make you stop doing what you're doing to think about what's really important. I'm pretty sure that God is trying to tell me to spend more time with family, and really, truly value them. I love my family dearly, and I would do anything for each and every person within my family, but I don't think I appreciate them enough. With my mom getting diagnosed and dealing with her surgery and upcoming treatment, my sister getting biopsied and the rest of my entire family getting ultrasounds of their thyroids, I feel like I really should spend more time with them and talking to them. It's the same feeling with my dad's family, too. They all live in different states minus my dad's sister. It's so difficult to keep in touch with people who hardly live close by.  I really need to put forth more effort, and I should. They're family, and I couldn't be here without them (literally and figuratively).

Cherish your family and friends. Whether or not you have been through cancer or any other life-threatening disease or disorder, you should spend as much time with them as possible and love them for who they are. Every moment counts.

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