“I think the truth to living fully is to appreciate what we have, day by day, regardless of what we know might come our way.”

“I think the trick to living fully,” I said, thinking through each word, “is to appreciate what we have, day byday, regardless of what we know might come our way.” I took a breath and slowly looked from one of myparents to the other. “If I live in fear of what might be, how can I truly live my life to the full in the present? Andif I do not give myself to the day, to hope, to life, what do I miss?” I raised my eyebrows and shook my head.“Life itself, I think. At least the way I wanna live it.”

“If I live in fear of what might be, how can I truly live my life to the full in the present? And if I do not give myself to the day, to hope, to life, what do I miss?”

“How good it felt, to do some good, here and there. Perhaps this was what it meant to be an adult. To grab the opportunity at hand, make the most of the day, regardless of what it looked like.”

“We all belong to Him, from the cradle to the grave, whether we know it or not. And He'll see justice done in His own time and in His own way. Now if we trust in Him, that's all we have to think about. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm just saying it's what I think we're go do.”

“What could I do, to make the most of this day, whether I was in my own day, or this one? What amazing history was I seeing firsthand? Would I embrace it, instead of crying and whining? Was it in me to be grateful for my situation? Truly in me?”

“We are attempting to play God, when maybe God put ushere in the first place.” Father Tomas’s words by the stream came back to me. I could see his stick in theriver, the water dividing on either side. “We can only move forward with what we have been given. Negotiatethe river of life. Of time. And we’ve been given this,” I pleaded, waving at our circle. “Family. Love. Joy. Life.Can we not embrace it, for as long as we have it? Isn’t it what we all most dearly want, deep down?”