Why do we have to say Goodbye?

From the moment that we start to develop in our mother’s womb, we are dying. It is what we call the process of life, and it starts when we are very young and still hasn’t seen the light of day. It’s called aging. It is a period of our development that makes us fragile. But yet, when some of us as we get older, we will find that we will never change. We grow and get bigger and bigger until we can’t maintain the residence within our mother's oversized belly. Then a dull light penetrates our eyelids, and as we open them, the light gets brighter. We are now in the world and are part of everything that develops around us. It’s cold but that person we now call mom comforts us with a soft, warm blanket. She cuddles us with the kind of love that can only be explained by each and every one of us, individually. Mom smiles at us and at the same timesing us a lullaby. She walks around the room, holding us. We stare at each other, communicating, for the moment just with our eyes and a smile that penetrates the thickest clouds that float in the bluest most heavenly skies you have ever seen.Your eyes match the color of the sky, and you see the world that you will get to know and affectionately call home. As time passes, you get older;you attend school to understandthe world around you. Your understanding of life gets brighter and clearer. You learn that people are supposed to breathe and maintain a heartbeat. You learned thereason why the breathing and the heart stops. Your understanding of the elements around you also gets clearer. You have friends and family who are older than you. Some of them are overweight, smokers, drinkers of alcohol, and users of drugs. You know about these elements. It has been around as long as the people who are standing next to you. You find that each one of these people gives you a feeling of comfort. These people are family. They are closer to you than anything or anybody has ever been in your short life. You see that some of them are unhealthy, and it worries you that the majority is already knocking on heaven’s door. One day, you come home from school, you walk passed the kitchen and enter the living room. You see the person you call mom laying awkwardly on the couch. You approach her and with each step you softly whisper “mom?” With your first contact, you shake her and scream louder “mom!” She still does not answer. You noticed that she was not breathing. You hyperventilate and feel her neck for a pulse. It is absent. You know that time is critical, so you take her cellphone and dial 911. You push the button labeled “speaker” and at the same time, you use all of your strength to roll your mom to the floor. You start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); something you learned at school. The dispatchers voice emanates from the phone,saying, “emergency services.” You tell them about your mom and the dispatcher immediately sends paramedics. During that time, you continue with CPR and by the grace of whatever you believe, your mom starts to breathe. You stop what you are doing and check the pulse at her neck again. It is strong but not regular.Nonetheless, it is beating. Moments later, a knock is heard at the front door. You rush to see who it is. It is the paramedics. You direct them to your mom. With tears in your eyes, you tell them how you found her and that you did CPR. The paramedics were amazed and asked, “How old are you?” You answer and say “eight” as the paramedic start an intravenous and gives your mom some medication. They place her on a gurney and take her to the hospital. You ride up front with them and from time to time looks back to see how she is doing. The siren is blasting as the ambulance safely makes its way to the hospital. Your mom goesinside, and doctors handle her care. She is admitted to the hospital and released eight days later. She goes home and lives a normal life. With this newfound outlook on life, you encourage your mom and everybody you love to get healthier because the action that you took saved her life to where she can see the light of day, once more. You tell your family that in tears. You are convincing, but the biggest determination was that the one you call “mom” was standing next to you. Why do we have to say goodbye? The truth is, you will have to one of these days; but not now. Learn CPR to save lives. And learn how to recognize when someone needs your help. It is clear from this story that it does work. So if you truly love your family from the moment they saw the light of day, give them the opportunity to count the years. We are not promised to reach an antique age but imagine all of the family we can hold, hug and kiss; children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great, great grandchildren and more if we could. What a wonderful world it would be. So look in the mirror and say this simple phrase; if an eight-year-old can do it, so can I.

Ennis C. Jackson

Ennis is an Advance Life Support caregiver providing emergency care, training, motivating and educating on a national level for over 35 years with strong concentration and enormous success in business consultation, motivational and safety speaking, minor project management and customer service management. Ennis has been a Supervisor and Associate Supervisor in California, Okinawa Japan, and S. Korea with experience in leading teams and managing large groups of personnel.

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From the moment that we start to develop in our mother’s womb, we are dying. It is what we call the process of life, and it starts when we are very young and still hasn’t seen the light of day. It’s called aging. It is a period of our development that makes us fragile. But yet, when some of us as we get older, we will find that we will never change. We grow and get bigger and bigger until we can’t maintain the residence within our mother's oversized belly. Then a dull light penetrates our eyelids, and as we open them, the light gets brighter. We are now in the world and are part of everything that develops around us. It’s cold but that person we now call mom comforts us with a soft, warm blanket. She cuddles us with the kind of love that can only be explained by each and every one of us, individually. Mom smiles at us and at the same timesing us a lullaby. She walks around the room, holding us. We stare at each other, communicating, for the moment just with our eyes and a smile that penetrates the thickest clouds that float in the bluest most heavenly skies you have ever seen.Your eyes match the color of the sky, and you see the world that you will get to know and affectionately call home. As time passes, you get older;you attend school to understandthe world around you. Your understanding of life gets brighter and clearer. You learn that people are supposed to breathe and maintain a heartbeat. You learned thereason why the breathing and the heart stops. Your understanding of the elements around you also gets clearer. You have friends and family who are older than you. Some of them are overweight, smokers, drinkers of alcohol, and users of drugs. You know about these elements. It has been around as long as the people who are standing next to you. You find that each one of these people gives you a feeling of comfort. These people are family. They are closer to you than anything or anybody has ever been in your short life. You see that some of them are unhealthy, and it worries you that the majority is already knocking on heaven’s door. One day, you come home from school, you walk passed the kitchen and enter the living room. You see the person you call mom laying awkwardly on the couch. You approach her and with each step you softly whisper “mom?” With your first contact, you shake her and scream louder “mom!” She still does not answer. You noticed that she was not breathing. You hyperventilate and feel her neck for a pulse. It is absent. You know that time is critical, so you take her cellphone and dial 911. You push the button labeled “speaker” and at the same time, you use all of your strength to roll your mom to the floor. You start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); something you learned at school. The dispatchers voice emanates from the phone,saying, “emergency services.” You tell them about your mom and the dispatcher immediately sends paramedics. During that time, you continue with CPR and by the grace of whatever you believe, your mom starts to breathe. You stop what you are doing and check the pulse at her neck again. It is strong but not regular.Nonetheless, it is beating. Moments later, a knock is heard at the front door. You rush to see who it is. It is the paramedics. You direct them to your mom. With tears in your eyes, you tell them how you found her and that you did CPR. The paramedics were amazed and asked, “How old are you?” You answer and say “eight” as the paramedic start an intravenous and gives your mom some medication. They place her on a gurney and take her to the hospital. You ride up front with them and from time to time looks back to see how she is doing. The siren is blasting as the ambulance safely makes its way to the hospital. Your mom goesinside, and doctors handle her care. She is admitted to the hospital and released eight days later. She goes home and lives a normal life. With this newfound outlook on life, you encourage your mom and everybody you love to get healthier because the action that you took saved her life to where she can see the light of day, once more. You tell your family that in tears. You are convincing, but the biggest determination was that the one you call “mom” was standing next to you. Why do we have to say goodbye? The truth is, you will have to one of these days; but not now. Learn CPR to save lives. And learn how to recognize when someone needs your help. It is clear from this story that it does work. So if you truly love your family from the moment they saw the light of day, give them the opportunity to count the years. We are not promised to reach an antique age but imagine all of the family we can hold, hug and kiss; children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great, great grandchildren and more if we could. What a wonderful world it would be. So look in the mirror and say this simple phrase; if an eight-year-old can do it, so can I.

Vlad Magdalin

Passionate reader | People person | The one behind All dad jokes