Don’t Take Things for Granted

My world was turned upside down when I was six years old. We were in a good place, we had what we needed and it was gone in a matter of minutes. It was an accident that made me realize I took everything I had, including my family, for granted. I wish I hadn’t.

It was a perfect morning, shaping up to be a beautiful day. The date is forgotten. We were in our living room watching the TV, not a sound around us, when suddenly my brother comes running up stairs. He was frantic and we knew something was wrong. Everything clicked when the smell of smoke threw us into alert mode. My mom ran down stairs to find the couch engulfed in flames.

By the time she got down stairs it was too late, but she was bound to stop it. She ordered us to grab as much water as we could and somewhere in the hectic struggle with the fire someone called 911. The flames were too big and no matter how much water we got it didn’t help. Smoke was starting to press on our chests and sting our eyes. We had to surrender, but we never gave up.

When the fire department arrived we ran outside, we couldn’t stop fate from taking its course. The windows blew out with a loud BANG. We just stood there; there was nothing left we could do. Firemen ran inside and eventually extinguished the fire. The only damage was downstairs, but smoke was plastered on every wall.

Once we got checked out by the paramedics, we regrouped. We couldn’t believe that this had happened and was about to change everything that lied in the future. This felt like a terrible dream that I couldn’t wake up from no matter how hard I pinched myself. It all felt foggy, and I wanted more than ever for me to wake back up in my bed and everything be okay.

We stayed in a hotel for a while, it seemed like an eternity. All of our stuff from the house that wasn’t ruined was moved into storage. But we eventually found a place to call home. It wasn’t a house, it was a little three bedroom, two bathed apartment. It wasn’t even close to home but my mom said it would feel like it eventually, and I was bound to make it feel that way.

It’s hard to restart when you have no money, especially hard when you feel like you’re being suffocated by a new beginning, new schools, and new faces. There was always that worry in the back of your head. I eventually fell into the routine of my new life and it all was okay. I look back now and I realize my mom was right and without her support I wouldn’t be who I am today. God always has a plan for us and no matter where we move to I know that as long as we believe and we have each other that’s all that matters. We will always find our way.