Top 3

     On Friday, April 5^th, an Earthquake centered in New Jersey was felt in New York City (NYC). For most of us, this was our first time experiencing this type of event. At the time, while at work, my thoughts ran in different directions. It was to the point of thinking it was just the subway underground. On top of this, working with kids and being responsible for someone else’s child in a time of an emergency event is never something I wish for. After, I thought about how precious each day is that we live. In our society when many negative things happen, I wonder what brings a person to the point of no care.

    In thinking about the movie “The Best Man Holiday,” the character Lance seems to have it all together. Then his wife Mia’s cancer diagnosis is revealed. As a person who believes in a higher power, you come to question the reasons bad things happen at the wrong time. In the end time waits on no one. We should always assess what’s important and the order in which they fall. Lance was able to decide on his top 3 as being “God, Family, and Football.” For myself, the top 3 are…

1. Family: No one can make it in this world alone. Having a base is the foundation that leads us to the amazing things in our lives. Having a unit of people to go on the journey with is important and maintaining these relationships is important. My family is not perfect. But we support each other. As years go by and someone passes away from our base, it pushes us closer to appreciating those we have in our life.
2. Health: I constantly think about my health. Working in healthcare is one reason why. We prioritize work, money, and so many other things before our health. I am thankful to have a job to earn money to support my life. But in the end, we are all replaceable at work. I refuse to let the job stress me by setting boundaries.
3. Laughter/Fun: I enjoy laughing and having fun. Without this, I have limited interest in what I do day to day. For all our career responsibilities and our personal interests there should always be time for laughter and fun. If this is not present and stress overruns it, I pull away.

     Now, it’s your turn. What’s your top 3? As we saw with the earthquake, events can happen unexpectedly. Make sure you are always aware of what’s personally important to you.