When it comes down to it.

I recently got back in touch with a girl that I was fairly close to in high school. I managed to find her through a friend of a friend of a friend on one of the social networking sites. We got to pick up right where we left off and I got caught up on her life and she's caught up on mine. I always wondered how she made out after she left to live with her brother just after the start of our senior year of high school. Say what you want about those sites, but in this case, they are a very good thing.

Imagine my surprise when logging on this morning; I find an update that she is in a hospital. I guess she had a CAT scan on Saturday and a tumor in her head was discovered. Now I don't know any details of what lead to the CAT scan, but this is very scary. Right now they are doing more tests to try and get as good a treatment as they can in place for an excellent prognosis.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. She's my age, with a young daughter and a husband and now dealing with this.

I said a prayer for her and her husband and daughter as I was getting ready for work this morning; that the God who sees all and knows all would comfort her and just be with her in every step of this whole process.

Which brings to mind; how would I feel if I were in her place? Would I be sad that I hadn't spent enough time telling my boys that I love them? Would I accept that it meant the end of my life, or have the courage to fight to do what ever it took to stay alive? I want to think that I would fight, but I'd be scared to death. And maybe I'd have some regrets about how I used the time that I was given. And I don't want to look back on my life at any point, whether I live another year or another 60 years, and have regrets about the management of my time here on earth.

I pray that my friend gets a hopeful prognosis and that all the fear that she feels right now can soon be a thing of the past. That she can spend many more years with her husband and beautiful little girl doing the things that she loves.

Hug your babies tightly tonight.

Life is too damn short to take even one breath for granted.