So love ’em while you can
Cause life’s too short not to give a damn
Love ’em while you can
Cause you might not get a second chance to
Tuck in your babies, make sure they’re okay
Hold ’em tight cause this life’ll get crazy
No one knows when the good Lord’ll take ’em by the hand
So love ’em while you can
~Rayne Johnson
There are some specific moments, in life, where we’re blindsided by such unbelievable and unexpected events. It’s like our world stops spinning. The sudden jolt, as everything abruptly comes to a halt, it knocks you right on your ass. It’s the strangest thing, too. The way everyone around you, your neighbors, strangers at the supermarket, coworkers…they’re all still moving about. No one around you, outside those also experiencing this loss of gravity, even seems to notice your desperate struggle to find some solid footing. You do your very best to pretend the oxygen hasn’t been completely sucked from every room you’re inside. Trying not to lose your shit, in this foreign and hostile place you’ve found yourself in. Part of you wants to scream, to cry out, to beg and bargain and plead, with who and whatever might possibly listen. Part of you feels so damn angry. You want to punch a wall, or cuss some unsuspecting idiot out. On some level, though, you know it won’t make a difference. Things are never, ever, going to be the same. Life, as you’ve known it, isn’t going to feel familiar. At least, not for the foreseeable future. Maybe, never.
We’ve been inside the haze of yet another one of those events. Truthfully, I think I’m stalling. Even here, in my writing. Because what I’m about to share is still something I’m not quite sure I’m willing to accept, for myself.
Adam and my teenage niece was in a horrific car accident. She was with a friend, who entered an intersection, as a semi truck was passing through it. Her friend was ejected, from the car. Our niece was wearing her seatbelt, but sustained multiple serious and life threatening injuries. Her neck was broken. Her spleen ruptured. Several ribs, along with other bones broken. The most critical of all, are her brain injuries. She has several brain bleeds, and severe swelling. She’s on life support, and all we can do now is pray for a miracle. She’s our sweet Mj’s cousin, and they’ve always been close. I look at my babies, and I can’t begin to fathom the pain of seeing one of my own children like that. The way everything around you must shatter, and the helplessness of not being able to make your baby better. There’s such frustration, in knowing there’s nothing any of us can do, except pray.
I know you don’t really know my family, my niece, or her parents, but please say a prayer for her. I’ve never asked for anything like this, but I know it matters, and for now, this is the best I can possibly do.
Hug your loved ones. Hold your babies a second longer. Love them, while you can.
