The story of Katelyn Norman and her fight to survive bone cancer, ended with her submission to the disease.  It’s a tragic story of a young teenager who had so much life to live.  Katelyn had hoped she would be well enough to attend a prom in her honor, at her school but she had trouble breathing and had to be hospitalized.  She would not be going home.  Instead, her friends and family brought the prom to Katelyn; her prom date presenting her with a corsage and a prom queen sash.  It was a joyous moment surrounded by heartbreak and tragedy.  The reason for telling this sad story is to explain to people the importance of appreciating and celebrating life.  Any of us can be taken at any time and therefore it’s not enough to simply offer lip service, we must be the people who we want to be.  It’s not about reality TV or self-help books, it’s about looking in the mirror and deciding to change our lives.  By no means am I a psychologist and by no means would I suggest how people should live their lives but I do understand the importance of not wasting precious time, and never permitting anyone else, to waste my time.  Why are so many unable to break the chains of a bad childhood and to leave unpleasant experiences where they belong; in the past?  Why do so many waste their time until it’s too late?  Whether working, skiing, traveling or simply watching a sunset, I have learned to appreciate everything.  In Judaism there are morning prayers that thank G-D for allowing me to wake up and to be able to go to the bathroom, things that seem so simple, yet are all important in our daily lives.  When you appreciate the little, everyday things, you have a chance at living a happier, more fulfilled life.  Years ago, I had a boss who asked me if there was anything I took seriously.  My response was “sickness and death”.  Everything else is in our control, everything!!  So take control and when feeling sorry for yourself, think of Katelyn Norman, a fourteen year old girl whose only goal in life was to simply live to see another day.