Don’t Blink

My husband always teases me about my love for Kenny and his message: Drink it up. Don’t waste a drop. Squeeze every second out of that old clock. Don’t blink. 

But, here’s the thing: Life does change in a blink.

One day, you are headed to a Kenny concert with your girlfriends. You’ve known these girls since those first early, uncertain weeks of new motherhood, your children have grown up alongside each other. You are giddy with excitement for a night out without kids. At the concert, you toast each other with cheap beer and you dance like complete idiots. You dance like such crazies that you will have actual bruises to laugh about the next morning.

Don’t blink.

You laugh so hard your stomach hurts and it is wonderful. There you are, with members of your village, enjoying this life. Just like Kenny says. For once, you’ve left behind that mounting pile of laundry and all those to-dos and you’ve taken a moment to squeeze every second out of that old clock. It’s a hot summer night, the music is perfection, and you are sharing it with people you love. After the concert, ears still buzzing, you enjoy late-night pizza and blessed uninterrupted conversation. You talk about your kids and motherhood in all its lovely, messy glory. You laugh some more, and then you fall into a deep, glorious sleep, knowing that there will be no little people to wake you up at two in the morning. The husbands are on duty and good luck to them. The next morning, you enjoy a leisurely breakfast and coffee together. “Do we have to go home?” you ask in jest. But, alas, reality beckons and you return to motherhood and work and this thing called life.

And then, a mere four weeks later, that life changes forever.

Swiftly and without warning, your world is bull-dozed by the worst of all words:

Cancer.

Kids shouldn’t get sick.

Kids shouldn’t get sick, but sometimes they do.

And it’s awful.

And sickening.

And scary.

And life-altering.

And, suddenly, nothing is worth complaining about. That cold you’re battling, that deadline, that leaky ceiling, that kid who wakes you up at two in the morning, that issue with your car- none of it matters.

But… what the hell do you do? What can you do when one of your friend’s babies has been slapped with The Worst Word?

Truthfully, there is nothing you can do to fix it. You can’t magically make it go away. And that just hurts your heart. And then you think about how much their hearts must be hurting right now and yours hurts even more. But even that can’t feel like what they must be feeling right now.

You simply can’t imagine what it must feel like.

But you can help.

In fact, you all can help.

Tonight, as you surf the net and see all the upcoming Black Friday teasers and online gift guides, as you sift through the must-haves and they-really-wants, know this:

By clicking on the following link, you will not only be purchasing quality, educational, engaging Usborne products but you will also be helping a family at no extra cost. From now until December 12th, ALL of the proceeds from the following event, plus all free books earned, will go directly to Carter. 

Don’t blink. Please take a moment to help another in need, just as you would want them to do for you if it were your kid. Because, truly, it could be.

Don’t blink. Help. You’ll be so glad you did.

And, if you don’t have Usborne needs but still want to help, please donate to Boston Children’s Hospital or Dana-Farber. Thankfully, our C is in the best of hands.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

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