On Not Taking Life for Granted – {Personal Post}

As some of you know, I zipped across the country for a few days to my parents’ home for Christmas. We were lucky enough to all be together again for the holiday and had ourselves a lovely Christmas together.

My brother and I stayed up late Christmas day, talking about anything and everything into the wee hours, munching on cookies in my parents’ kitchen. We were startled when we heard pounding on our front door. Who could that be at midnight on Christmas Day? So odd… my brother answered and it was a policeman come to tell us that our neighbor’s house was on fire.

My brother and I asked the police man if everyone was ok, if they’d gotten out safely, and ran outside to see the house engulfed in unbelievably tall flames. My brother ran inside to wake my parents, and we ran outside again to stare disbelieving as the house smoked, windows shattered and as the roof spewed flames while firefighters worked tirelessly to put out the blaze.

Luckily, as I mentioned, everyone in the house escaped safely, except for their little puppy who perished in the fire.

The thing that rocked all of us was that this fire, this ruthless, oxygen-hungry, sky-scraping fire, could have happened to anybody. And does. Frequently. I’m not sure if the fire chief has determined the cause of the fire. I’ve heard everything from it being labeled as a chimney fire, to a Christmas tree fire (of the plastic sort) to faulty electrical wiring.

I’m sharing these photos today because it’s the one month anniversary of this night. The house has since been torn down. The family is doing ok…it’s incredibly tough on them of course, but they plan to rebuild on the old foundation. I didn’t want to post these photos immediately, because I wanted to give the family some privacy in the face of their tragedy. Their town is a small one, and word (and photos) travel quickly.

I’m also sharing these photos because seeing something like this…and feeling the fear that our own house would catch fire….really makes a person reevaluate what’s important in their lives. I’m so grateful to have family and friends who love me, a roof over my head, and food in my belly. Please, if these photos move you, tell your loved ones that you LOVE them. Today. Do it right now. And also please do you and your family a favor and check to make sure your smoke detector batteries are fresh and functioning.

Life is fragile. Don’t forget to soak it in and appreciate every day you’ve got.

-Kristine

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