Today is my birthday and I’m now 33 years old. At times, it is easy to forget what a blessing it is to see another sunrise. If you are born you will eventually die, but it is hard to accept death when it is a child. You think about all the what ifs and dream up many paths and opportunities that will never come to fruition.
Last year school, our school was struck with tragedy. One of our fourth grade students found a gun. The gun fired and the student died. This was the third time I had worked in a building when a student suddenly died. One of my coping mechanisms is writing. I wrote two haiku after the tragedy.
Recently, I heard about Fifty Word Stories where writers are challenged to submit a story using exactly fifty words. I took these poems and molded them into a fifty word story. The story, “Gone Too Soon” was published online today.
It’s tragedies that help us refocus and remember life is precious. I’m grateful to be 33 today. The next 364 days of my thirty-third year on earth are yet to be written. I hope that I live to see each one and that I make a positive mark on someone’s life each day.
~In memory of Noah~