Today has been one of those days where, on one hand, I read about parents who just lost their young son and would have done anything, absolutely anything to keep him alive. Cancer robbed this family of, among many other things: grade seven graduation, high school, acne, driving lessons, girlfriends, graduations, weddings and grandchildren. Cancer robbed them of being able to see their son go to bed safe every night and rise healthy and happy every morning. I bet you my left leg if there was some way to prevent this, any way, this family would have taken that opportunity. In a heart beat. The other side of this story is another parent, same day, who does not seem to care enough about the possibility of his son potentially getting cancer. Do you think if this parent could see into the crystal ball of life five or ten years down the road, when his son might be going through possible cancer saying to himself “Gee I wish I had taken those extra few minutes to make sure my teenage son wasn’t lying to me about smoking?” or “I wish I had taken the time to listen to others when they had concerns and not just shrugged it off.” Why do people not try to do their best as parents all the time? Is that not part of the job – to keep them safe from harm? Especially when you can obviously see that the kid makes bad choices in all aspects of his life? What makes you think this choice is going to be any wiser? I think, at the end of the day, I never want to have any regrets as a parent because I never, ever want to watch my child, at any age, go through what this family went through. In the end isn’t it important to be able to say that we all did our very best for our children?
I am attaching a link to the blog of the family who lost their son. Please do not read this if you are already sad. Losing a child is the absolute saddest thing I can think of in the world. I only post here for those who need a reality check and should take more care and concern of the children you brought into this world. That and please, please hug your healthy child today.
To the McBurney's - the huge gaping hole in your hearts will never leave but in time, having known Kade, will fill that hole back up with the remembrance of love and all the joy he brought to your lives. Thank you for sharing your pain with us. It reminds us that every moment is a gift and it shouldn't be squandered.
