"This Too Shall Pass"

One of my favorite quotes ever. It's one of those quotes that you sort of have to really think about before letting it absorb into your head.

I remember reading it once, and I read it over and over in my head and suddenly it became one of my favorite quotes. I have a picture of this quote written in the sand near the ocean framed in my house and everyday I see it, and its my little bit of motivation to go on about my days.

There's those days when I feel nothing else could go wrong. We all have those days...you run late for work, your boss is on your ass all day, feels like your doing absolutely everything wrong, you leave work and car wont start, dont make it on time to pick up the kids, get home late and kids are driving you insane, realize you have nothing to make dinner...etc...etc. Yes, we all have those days. Sometimes you just have to sit back, take a deep breath and tell yourself "This too shall pass."

And, I promise you, it will. Not too long ago I was having the worst financial problems I have ever faced. I had just got my apartment, a week later I have my son, I wasn't working and was on disabilty leave for my maternity time off and wasn't making close to what I was making while at work. I didn't have enough to pay the rent or to even buy food. I was doing absolutely everything possible to get money to make it another day. Bills kept stacking up, but I had no money to pay them. Then, I get into a car accident and since I had no money, I had been unable to pay my car insurance and so it was cut off. I thought I would never get out of it. I thought I was going to go crazy and I stressed every single day wondering how I would get out of that mess. I told myself 'this too shall pass', but yet it felt that every day it kept getting worst rather than better.

But, believe it or not...it got better. I am now living comfortably as of finances and I am glad that I am not stressing out about money as I was not too long ago.

There may be things in life that we think we will never overcome. Obstacles that face us that we wonder how we will make it, but we will, because before you know it, it will have passed you by. So, hang in there...I know life is rough sometimes but you have to learn to ride those bumpy roads and hang tight and just tell yourself, "This too shall pass."

"Live Each Day As If It Were Your Last"

Ok, so I know this is one of those famous quotes we always hear and your probably thinking..."Ok Mayra, couldn't you just come up with something better than that?" Well, yes, I could have. But, I didn't because I felt to start off this blog...this would be the perfect way to start it.

Honestly, when I used to hear this quote...I never really, really paid attention to it. It was always just one of those nice sayings we would brush aside. I didn't realize the true meaning of it though until April 8, 2009. The day that has changed my life forever and my perspective of thinking.

It was just a normal day for me. It was a Wednesday night, my daughter had just gone with her dad and my boyfriend was over and we were going to take the baby to see his parents. Our son was 5 weeks old at the time. Since I had the baby's carseat base already in my car, I decided to take my car to his parents house and he could take his car.

Usually, whenever we go somewhere, my boyfriend always is the one that follows me. As we were pulling out of the driveway, he signaled me to go ahead, and I told him to just go so I could follow him. Why? I have no idea because usually I would be the one in lead.

Here we were pulling into a left turning light...me one car behind my boyfriend...and all of a sudden everything went black for me. That's all I remember, everything going black, hearing a deep ringing in my ear and seconds after that hearing the sound of metal shattering. 'What was going on?' I remember feeling so confused in those couple of seconds, not knowing what was going on. Then, it had all stopped and I open my eyes and I am in a car filling up with smoke.

I was so confused and honestly had no idea what had just happened. Then, I hear my son crying in the backseat. My biggest fear is fires, oh how I hate fires! And, my first reaction as I sat there in my car filling up with smoke and with a smell of something burning was that my car was catching on fire and I had to get my son out.

Then, I realized, I was in a car accident...and from the looks of it, it looked bad. Suddenly extreme pain came to my head and face and body all at once, but I brushed it aside as I managed to open my door so I could take me and my son out.

I began to panic when I realized my door wasn't opening. I was trapped. Just then is when I saw my boyfriend standing by my window and within seconds he had my door tore open. He just suddenly became Superman because that door sure as hell was jammed in. Words cannot describe though the relief I felt the second I saw him there...I suddenly felt everything was going to be OK and I was not alone.

I wasn't all there after the accident. I was taken to sit on the sidewalk as ambulance arrived, that's when I got to see my car and when I saw it, I couldn't believe I had walked out of it and my son have come out without a scratch.

I was taken into the hospital as major trauma since I kept loosing consciousness, which I am assuming was just from a bump to the head, other than that all I had was a fracture in my face and some bad bruising and swelling.

Apparently what had happened was as I was pulling into the left turning lane, a car that was going straight hit me from the back, which then pushed my car into the truck infront of me, which then sent my car over the center divide on the left hand side over to the other side of the street onto uncoming traffic where yet another car hit me in the front.

And, I remember laying there in the hospital and I thought to myself, "How was it that one second I was there on my way to my boyfriends house, listening to my music in the car...and the next I was laying out on the side of the road after a horrible accident?"

I never saw it coming. Nothing prepared me for it. It just happened and I had no time to react to it, no time to have done something different to avoid it happening. It just happened...and within those seconds my life could've been taken from me, not just that but my son's life too!

When I finally was unstrapped from being in a neck brace and tied down to the flatboard and was able to hold my son for the first time since the accident, I held him like I never held him before. I hugged him and kissed him and nearly cried because how thankful I was to be able to be holding him, to be able to tell him I loved him, to be able to kiss his little head, and to be able to be there one extra day being his mother. And, when I got home...I have never been more happier than to be able to see my daughter again. Within those few seconds my life could've been taken from me and I may have not ever seen my daughter again.

I try not to think of never being there to watch my children grow up, but ever since the accident I have realized how suddenly your life could get taken from you with no warning. All it takes is seconds and your life has changed forever.

And so now, I am living each day as if it were my last. We never know what tomorrow is promised...so all I can say is should my day come tomorrow, atleast i'll know I have told my kids and told those that I love, that I loved them. I make sure to tell them everyday...


This was my 2003 Honda Element...