Topic : 03/16 Cheerleader Scandal

Check you numbers on how many different ways people have killed themselves and how many times each one has been used.  People are different.   

I have never felt more compelled to respond to a subject than I was after watching this show.  I was saddened to see the hurt, anger and hate that filled both Brandi and Daniel's families.  I remained frustrated throughout the show as I continued to watch these families wage war on each other.  It was not until the last five minutes that I found some solace as Dr. Phil talked to them about letting go of their anger and opting instead to take back their lives. 

I know only too well what these families faced, because my family went through something very similar.  On the eve of my 25th birthday, my brother (only one week away from this 24th birthday) was instantly killed by a drunk driver.  The driver was his best friend.  Initially, we all faced heart-wrenching sadness, then anger, then emptiness, then tons of what ifs............ It has been 18 years since my brother was killed and  I don't really think about the man who took his life.    He spent only one year in jail.  It's not up to me or my family to forgive him.  It's up to him and his higher power. 

We celebrate my brother's life by keeping his memory alive in our own lives in positive ways.  Dr. Phil was 100% correct when he said that both families needed to let go of their anger in order to move on.  This truly is a difficult task, but once achieved, the benefits are endless.  When I think of my brother I don't think about the wife or children that he will never have, the holidays he will miss, etc.  Instead I remember the goofy and stupid things we did when we were young.  I remember his smile and his curly hair and how we always used to compete at everything - especially water skiing.  I remember how my parents would get mad when they caught him ditching school and how he drove around in a big old station wagon (like the one from "Vacation").  You see, life is a celebration and a blessing.  Life gives us unexpected joys and sadness.  How we choose to accept and handle these "gifts" determine the tempo of our own lives. 

And one more thing that Dr. Phil was correct about - you really don't know until you've experienced it first-hand.  It's very easy to have an opinion - it's something quite different to have an opinion once you've experienced it.