Fragile

I’ve always liked Sting and a the musical works he’s pumped out over the years. From The Police on through to his solo albums. One song that has resonated with me is the music video above “Fragile.” Tonight that song took on a whole new perspective for me…one that will remain for life.

The last thing you think about as you’re corralling your 5 year old off the t-ball practice field is the fragility of life. Tonight that changed. I turned from the baseball field to find my 2 year old daughter underneath the bleachers with a crowd around her. Her life came to a screeching stop when she fell off the bleachers to the hard ground below. As she lie there stiff and unconscious, I started to see how fragile we are.

It’s crazy how seconds feel like minutes in those moments. When it feels like life and death are balancing before you, that is when the world turns slower. When you look down at your own child and see life slipping away…that is when you feel the weight of the moment…that is when you realize how fragile we are.

The last thing I thought I would do tonight was give my daughter mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. It never crossed my mind that I would be desperately listening to her little chest for a heart beat and checking to see if she could breathe. The older they get, the more kids you have, the more you forget how fragile we are.

I can’t express the relief I felt when that first breath was taken…that first little cough…that first sign of life coming back. We weren’t out of the darkness yet, but it brought hope. As I scooped her up and sped off with Wendy to the hospital I lost my stomach and heart every time I looked over to see my lil Sydney-Boo’s eyes roll back in her head. I couldn’t drive fast enough…I couldn’t do anything but watch the minutes tick and realize how fragile we are.

Tonight could have ended in so many ways. Tonight could have been a beginning of a nightmare. Tonight could have ended with bad news from x-rays and CT scans. But tonight became a reminder of how much I have to be thankful for…lest I forget how fragile we are.

Breathe In & Smile Out,
Chris