Appreciate The Time You Have With People

Josephine Krug, fourth place

I never thought this was going to happen when I was so young. My dad barged into my room at 12:13 a.m., and I knew something had happened because he never comes into my room that late at night. He told me there was a car accident and we needed to go. I screamed and cried as I processed that my life would never be the same. I realized that everything I took for granted, I should’ve had more appreciation for.

It all started on April 16, 2022; I was coloring eggs for Easter and my mom was in Wausau after work and was going to a bar. No one suspected anything because it was a Saturday night, so everyone went to bed and then a couple of hours after going to bed, I heard a lot of noise from outside my room and then my dad barged into my room, and with the tone in his voice, I knew it wasn’t good. All he said to me was, “Mom got into a car accident and Grandma is coming to get us.” I was in so much shock that I grabbed the closest sweatshirt to me and went into the kitchen. Then my dad told me to get my jacket, shoes, glasses, and my phone. We stood outside waiting for my grandma and all I could think to do was pray; I prayed and prayed that she would be okay and be able to come back home that night. When my grandma got to my house, we got in the car and took her back to her house. On our way to the spot of the accident, I was hoping and praying that she would message me saying, “I’m okay”. We got to the spot and all I remember seeing were the flashing lights, two police cars, my brother in his truck, and my grandpa in his car. I was so tired but couldn’t sleep and after a few hours of sitting there waiting, my dad came back into the car after talking to the police and said, “Josey it’s not looking good.” About a minute later, he said, “She didn’t make it.” After he said that, he came to the backseat, where I was; I screamed and had no tears for a minute because I was in so much shock. I went back home just thinking about how earlier that morning she came into my room before leaving for work and I was being crabby at her and she was trying to make me happy. She was so happy and very energized. I realized that the way I acted was not the way I should’ve and I regret everything I said to her. I didn’t know that those would be the last words I would get to say to her. As the author of the quote said, I shouldn’t have taken those moments for granted, but I did.

From this experience, I learned that even if you’re mad at someone, you should still tell them you love them because you never know if they will be your last words to that person. I took that morning on April 16, 2022, at her house when she wanted to talk to me for granted. I appreciate all the times that we had long and pleasant conversations with each other.

I will live my life by always saying “I love you” even if I am mad at someone. I will forever regret the things I said to my mom that morning. If I could go back, I would do that morning completely differently. I wish I wouldn’t have been crabby and instead said, “I love you, and I hope you have a good day at work.”

“Don’t take people for granted” - Anonymous