Taking things for granted

We often take things for granted and I was reminded of that fact recently. The first reminder was the movie "Marley and me", when this creature of god became just as important to the family as the children they gave birth to. Marley did what family members tend to do, they get on your nerves, they do the wrongs things, and they give you unconditional love. The moment Marley became terminally ill, the family realized that they took Marley for granted and what he meant to each one. Marley and me did not have a happy ending but made a very good point, that we must appreciate what we have in the now and don't regret what we don't have.
My second reminder came upon me like quicksilver and I wasn't prepared for it. I am a person who deems herself as a logical and organized person and I can't handle chaos well. My world almost change in an instant, for three months I took my mother to the doctor and found out that she had a nodule or growth on her thyroid gland that was growing for two years. I haven't been going to the doctor with her because she was independent but when her medication got mixed up, I had to make it my business to know what was going on with her health. My mom is 75 years old and my best friend, my father is my other best friend but he was diagnose with schizophrenia years ago and often is not aware of who I am. She was schedule for the operation later this month and I thought my faith was as strong as the Wall of China but suddenly I felt like I was dropped into an abyss. I thought I was a good daughter but felt differently when faced with the fact that I could lose her. The operation kept getting moved up and I was left with two weeks to figure out what I needed to do if I no longer had her in my life. She didn't have a will, her life insurance policies were all over the place and I didn't know how to ask for help from her siblings. There I was on October 16, 2009 in the surgical lounge by myself waiting to hear how the operation went. They had to kept her under anesthesia to check to see if the growth was cancerous or not. Looking around, seeing family members of other patients, I felt completely alone and at that moment I wondered did she know how much I loved her, did I treat her right, was I the best daughter her that I could be and did she know how much she meant to me. My faith was faltering and I didn't want to give off negative energy. I became angry, why was god testing me? Wasn't my father enough or what about my child that he took back and now the only person that means the world to me, what did I do that was so wrong, why would he leave me alone. I tried to concentrate on my school work but it became impossible. So, I waited and waited, fear taking over me, I was not prepared to be alone in this cruel and messy world without my own Job. Finally, Dr. Lessorson came out and told me everything went well and I burst out in tears, tears of joy, tears of relief and tears of a second chance. If I haven't made it known to her with my last dying breath my mother will know and see how much she means to me. I won't ever take for granted the time we have together, as I was always told, no time is promised to us, so I can't afford to wait for tomorrow to show her today what she means to me. Every moment I have with her is a blessing and I am so thankful, I can no longer complain about our positions being reversed. She may get on my nerves, she may do things that are not right but her unconditional love will never falter and neither will mine.