The Most Important Day - Melanie Cheesman 1

The Most Important Day

    Death changes everything for everyone that it involves. The most important day of my life was the day I found out that my dad had died. Although I was six years old, I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. I knew how much my life and family was going to change.

    On June 17th of 2008, my dad and his friend went for a bike ride through White Hall, Arkansas. Dollarway Road is where it all happened; Dollarway is the main road that goes through the city. My dad and his friend were riding their bikes on the sidewalk, and there was a fire hydrant in the ground in their way. To avoid hitting it, the two men peddled around it. As they went around the hydrant, a man that was going to work hit the two of them. The friend of my dad’s went forward and fell into the grass. However, my dad went over the car and landed behind it. This was just the beginning of a long road for my dad and the rest of my family, along with many friends.

    My dad and his friend were rushed to the emergency room. My mother, brother, sister, and I were just living our day-to-day lives when my mom got the call. She knew that because I was only 6, I was not permitted to be in the hospital, so I went and stayed with one of my friends. Little did I know at the time that my dad had just been in a horrible accident.

    After being in a coma for 6 days, my dad eventually had to have brain surgery. On June 23rd, 2008, he joined the Lord, leaving my whole family grieving. Sitting in my aunt’s living room, my mom told my sister and I the news. We both just held each other while we sobbed into each other’s arm. It took me a little while to understand that I would never see my dad on this planet again. It broke my heart to think about growing up without my dad, and it also broke my heart to think about my mom living without him. We all knew how much this event was going to change our lives. We knew that there was going to be a lot of adjustments that we would have to face. It was and has been indefinitely the hardest thing to have gone through.

    The day of June 23rd was a hard one. After we left my aunt’s apartment, we got a group of family members and friends to meet us at our house. We all crowded into the living room of the house my dad loved so much. We stayed up late that night, telling stories and looking at pictures that included him. It was a very significant day for my family because it is the day we realized how much we took the time with each other for granted. Everyone in my family learned a lesson that day; we all learned to spend as much time with each other as possible, not to take anyone for granted, and simply not to hold grudges with people.

    Even though the loss of my dad is and was challenging, I would not be who or where I am today if he had not died. For example, I would not know near as many people as I do now and I would not have had as many opportunities and experiences. Because of this event, it drew me closer to God and my family; it also played a huge role in me getting saved. Therefore, the most important day of my life was the day I found out my dad had died.