3 Years Later

Three years later. As I wrote about last year in “And With That, the 2022 Season Comes to An End,” sometimes it feels like life moves so quickly, it’s like watching a movie. One scene ends, and the words flash across the screen “Three years later,” and before you know it, life has flash forwarded three years. Three years.

Three years ago, our lives changed forever when Ben and I were in a head on collision. Every year since, I’ve posted about that day, starting with one year later In What Would Life Be Without Adventure. I also talk about what happened in A Christmas to Remember. I was also interviewed on a Podcast about the accident and you can list to that here: Broken But Still the Light. Maybe one day, I won’t post on the anniversary of the accident, but right now it’s still very raw. The picture below is one that I snapped just a few moments before we crashed. 

This time of year brings a lot of anxiety, no matter how much we prepare for it. With time, I know it will get a little easier. It already has in many ways. I don’t have nightmares nearly as often as I did at first, and there are days when I don’t think about the accident for the most part. But there are moments when it all comes back, and this day is one of them.

A lot can happen in three years. A lot has happened even in the world in general in the past three years. I’ve continued working from home at a job I love. I still have some side effects from the accident, such as weakness and chronic pain, but I’m alive, and back to doing most of what I love to do most. With Ben not doing markets, and me no longer having a commute, we have more time together. Time that is so much treasured! We welcome our basset hound into the family, added a greenhouse to our backyard, and have gone on many adventures together!

Yet, in three years Ben’s health has continued to decline. He is slowly losing full use of his hands. He has good days and bad days, and we both find the colder, changing weather impacts us in negative ways. Two of our dogs are getting older, and that comes with its own set of challenges. We’ve faced septic drainage issues, car problems, power outages, and even a tornado. A lot can happen in three years.

Still, we take the bad with the good. Even on the bad days, there is still so much to be thankful for. Today isn’t just about the accident, or the memories that come with it. It’s about life, about being alive. Today, we celebrate because I’m still here. Three years later, we can look back and see a lot of good that has come from the accident. 

The accident isn’t something we would have ever wanted to happen, but it did. Three years ago, our lives changed forever. It gave us a new perspective. What happened three years ago, gave us the gift of more time together, in both hours of the day and years.  It helped us to reprioritize the things that matter most, and reminded us to make the most of every day because none of us know how long we have. 

Today, we remember what happened three years ago, and we reflect on how much has changed since then. But we don’t stay in the past. We look to the future with anticipation, forever changed by this incredible journey we were thrown on. After all, the next three years could be the best ones yet!