I'm sure that by now, you've all read that letter written by the 27-year-old dying from cancer that went viral over the past couple of days after her passing. Just wow....I may have gone through 34 tissue boxes before getting to the end of it and had more chills all over my body than I've ever experienced before but that letter sure was powerful.

If you haven't read it, click here. I promise, it's a good one.

Fall in love with life itself. Fall in love with being alive. -- Mommy Blogger - Vlogger - The Overwhelmed Mommy

I've experienced plenty of death in my life but I'm sure that knowing that you're living your last days is an experience so unreal that it can't be described in words. Like what do you do? Do you travel? Do you buy all the things you've always want to buy? Do you cry? Do you laugh? Obviously we never know unless we are in that situation but there's really one thing that struck me and I sure hope it sticks with me through the end of my time here on Earth.

"It is a weird thing having money to spend at the end, when you're dying. It's not a time you go out and buy material things that you usually would, like a new dress. It makes you think how silly it is that we think it is worth spending so much money on new clothes and 'things' in our lives," she said.

"Buy your friend something kind instead of another dress, beauty product or jewellery for that next wedding ... take them out for a meal, or better yet, cook them a meal. Shout their coffee. Give or buy them a plant, a massage or a candle and tell them you love them when you give it to them."

And yes, we hear this time and time again about material things but just think about this...

"[Mortality] is just one of those things you ignore. The days tick by and you just expect they will keep on coming; until the unexpected happens. That's the thing about life," she noted. "It is fragile, precious and unpredictable and each day is a gift, not a given right."

Each day is a gift, not a given right.

Like, wow. That's all so true but yet, I continue to live my life the same way each and every day. But when you put it that way, it sure does put life into perspective, doesn't it?

We are all going to one day take our last breath but it's just something that we cannot fathom (or choose not to think about) until we know the end is near. But one day, we will all die. And I don't mean to sound morbid, but it's true. It's so true. So why does it take knowing our fate to whip us into shape? Why do we not take all of these things into consideration in our every day lives if we all know that one day it will be our last day?

I guess that's just human nature. But it's also human nature to want to win and to want to strive for better.

So today, instead of thinking about all of the material things I am so fortunate to have, I am creating a list of all of the reasons I am in love with being alive. Here are just some of them, because I could go on and on for days:

- having my beautiful daughter as my best friend
- having a child with a man who truly believes his daughter is the best thing that ever happened to him
- being married to a man who would do anything to protect us and would literally put his life before ours
- baby snuggles
- puppy snuggles
- husband snuggles
- eskimo kisses
- beautiful sunrises and sunsets
- nature + the sound of the birds chirping
- hearing Ava laugh
- watching Ava smile
- feeling Ava's little bottle curled up in my "cove" in the mornings
- friends
- family
- the ability to see, taste and feel
- God
- life