As I recently celebrated my birthday, I’m reminded of someone I’ll call K.
K was the same age as me. He was a father of three and a very caring father who put his family before anything else.
Around 2015, one day he went out for a bike ride and died from a heart attack.
The fact that he was my age, and that our families had spent a lot of time together, hit me really hard.
It didn’t feel like someone else’s story. It felt like my story – the same thing could have happened to me at any time.
I’m not living longer than him because I did anything particularly better (K was the healthiest man I knew) or because I deserve better.
People say “life is a gift.” But for me, nothing brings that phrase home more than thinking about K’s life and my life.
Every day is a gift. Today is a gift. I came from nothing when I was born, so any experience that I have — good or bad — is a win for me.
I’m so grateful that I have a chance to live this thing called life.
P.S. If only I could remember all this the next time a driver cuts into my lane and gives me a middle finger… 🙂