I believe in two things...if I can remember them

I was sitting at Ihop Saturday night with my mom and sister. It was nearing 11 p.m., I'd worked a solid eight hours and driven 2.5 to get to them, I had pent-up things to share so talk I did.

And I made perfect sense, I do believe.

"I believe in two things," I said, holding up two fingers to exagerate my point. "Two things."

They're looking at me, waiting for me to spill the beans.

A long pause.

"I can't remember them."

In-between me playing with a creamer container, breaking it open and spraying it all over mom, the walls, the art and the table, I managed to get it out.

"I believe that everything happens for a reason and I believe that something good will come out of everything."

Two very stout statements, I'm aware.

But when I look back at my eventful, sometimes disasterous life, it's true. The situations and circumstances that left me completely devestated resulted in bringing about the sweetest results.

I learned this lesson about nine years and when I learned it, I was able to turn back to my childhood and actually say, "I wouldn't be the person I am today if it hadn't been for those events." Good, bad or indifferent, I am a product of my upbringing and I have allowed the good to circumvent the bad.

It was a lesson learned in the simplest of ways. I was 16 and was hired a job in the emergency room of our local hospital working as a registration clerk. In the final days leading up to my first day at work, it was discovered that I couldn't work that job because of my age. I bitterly said it was the day I was "hired and fired in the same day."

But the woman who hired/fired me felt bad for what had happened and said there was a job opening in the dietary department. I ended up getting that job and worked there for two years. It was the best job, best people, perfect situation and I learned that the most devestating situations do have good results.

So there you have it. Milk-bath notwithstanding, mom and my sister heard my story once I gained control over my temporary short-term memory loss and they helped me. Mostly because they listened.