When I decided to start this blog it was really a way for me to express gratitude for people and experiences that have fundamentally influenced my life in some way. I hope as you read these entries it prompts some measure of reflection in your own life of similar situations. The reality is sometimes our lives are moving so quickly we don’t take time to pause and acknowledge those instances where a person or a situation impacted us. My hope is from my posts you are able to stop and reflect.

I felt for many reasons it was appropriate for me to write about a very special person in my life that we lost too soon to a deadly disease. Timing is very appropriate given it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she was born on October 31st and Halloween happened to be her absolute favorite holiday of the year. As I have mentioned many times before, I grew up in a very small town and all of our family lived very close to one another. As a result, my friend circle was very small both because I was quite introverted as a kid and my cousins were very close in age so we always hung out together. Sherree, though only 6 months younger than me, was like the younger sister I never had. As young kids we hung out together constantly and being part of a farming family you were always assured that all holidays and gatherings were held at the farmhouse. Having a large house and barn was a never ending playground for all of us. As we got older we continued to be a constant in each others lives whether it be church youth group, marching band or even when she dated one of my best friends in high school! After we both graduated our lives took us different directions with our own families which created distance between us. But, regardless of whether it was a periodic text, phone call or family event, it was like we were kids again picking up where we left off with each other. Things I remember most about Sherree was her smile and positivity. But she always carried that positivity with some spunk. If you would tell her “No” she would smile and turn around and try harder, but all the while doing it with grace and tenacity. Even through her long, courageous battle with cancer her texts and posts on CaringBridge where always centered around her faith, her overwhelming gratitude for her family and friends and her relentless tenacity to beat this disease.

We lost Sherree a little over two years ago and for me personally the loss was devastating. But, through the tears, anger and resentment for taking her too soon I was able to reflect and take my own inventory based on what was so important to her before she died. I use her life as my own daily reminder to keep my faith as first priority followed by my wife and kids. I also work to find the good in every situation while maintaining the tenacity to ensure setbacks don’t keep me from achieving my goals. I feel this is the least I can do to honor Sherree, her life and her influence she had on my own life.

I typically use this section for leadership takeaways, but instead I want to use it to encourage all who read this post to stop, take personal inventory of people and experiences around you both past and present. Identify ways those people and experience have influenced you throughout your lifetime. If that person is still alive, reach out and thank them for how they helped you. Sherree’s life taught me that life is so short, we must acknowledge, embrace and seek gratitude for people and experiences that are around us each and every day.