In essence, was there ever a time you wanted another chance?
Meet Shawn and Emily Stoik, a young couple who seem to have nearly everything figured out. They have a comfortable home in an equally comfortable subdivision, three beautiful (and well-behaved, we might add) children, and priorities that seem to always put family first. Spending time with them, you can’t help but feel they are all each other’s best friends, creating the type of welcoming atmosphere ripe for commercials about breakfast cereals.
These are the types of people you don’t imagine needing any help. The decisions they make seem, to a certain extent, impossibly correct. They smile a lot, laugh even more, and enjoy one another’s company like an old Frenchman does vintage wine. There is something in their candor that speaks to lasting love, whether between husband and wife, or children and parents; something that makes you sure this isn’t just an episode— a fleeting moment that will vanish once the veneer of pretense is wiped away. No, these are genuinely good people, living genuinely good lives. None of who seem to need another start, or another chance at life.
They already did it right the first time, so why start over again?
But there is something, if you look closely, very closely, that offers another story. Meeting Shawn and Emily for the first time, it’s difficult to see anything other than a young couple in love, much like a pair of honeymooners on their nuptial vacation. But through the smiles and the winks, you notice that something tragic has taken place in their past. It’s a scar of sorts that each of them carries. For Shawn, it’s the aftermath of multiple hospital visits due to an accident involving a tragic fire. And for Emily, it’s the fear of having almost lost the one man with whom she had fallen in love so deeply.
Life wasn’t always picture perfect for the Stoiks, although their story does start out quite nicely. Living in separate countries a few years back (Shawn in Canada, and Emily in the United States), each one decides to give a try at online dating — an exercise spurred on by well-meaning friends and family, though detested to a certain degree by both Shawn and Emily themselves. But like the good-natured sports they are, each one uploads a profile to appease those in their respective parties, and then they wait, like a fisherman at a pond in the mood for a steak, wondering if there isn’t a better place to find dinner.
Each one finds a nibble at the end of their line, and as they open the “You’ve Got Mail!” link, they find themselves pleasantly surprised. Each one finds the other attractive, both physically and in kindred spirit. They read about each other’s likes and dislikes, hobbies and passions. Soon, they’re texting and emailing, placing phone calls that last long into the late hours of the night. But love, of course, can only grow so much from afar, and so they decide to meet. Ten years later, they have what could be considered by all estimations a storybook kind of life.
But we skipped a part — the part where each of them was bubbling over with youthful enthusiasm, engaged to be married, and doing what they could to prepare for the big event. Emily went to task at creating the perfect wedding, with colors, fabrics and food to match. And Shawn — like any responsible, yet terrified soon-to-be husband, recognized the need for a little extra cash — a way to pad the budget for a nice honeymoon and a nest egg to help ease the transition.
He had a good job as a private detective up to that point. However, as detective work goes, not everyone needs a sleuth all of the time, so he thought he’d spend a few months at an oil refinery, transporting raw materials to and from the plant. The work was hard, long and at times, tedious, but the money was more than commensurate, especially for a young man whose mind rarely strayed from the reason behind the drudgery. In his mind’s eye, the long drives and monotonous days were mere bumps in the metaphorical road compared to what was in store for he and his young fiancée.
But on one of those long drives, only a week and a half after their engagement, something happened that shouldn’t have. Shawn doesn’t go much into the details, but he does describe the memory of feeling more pain than he ever thought physically possible, and what it’s like to plead for your life to be taken from you so as to be spared that pain. While driving the same stretch of road he had driven many times before, the payload he was carrying that particular day burst into flames. We say burst, but the reality of it was a massive explosion that engulfed the entire vehicle in a ball of rolling fire, fueled by gallons upon gallons of oil in the rear. As you can imagine, Shawn shouldn’t have survived an accident like that, and by the look of the evidence left behind in photographs, you suddenly come to realize how Providence must have played a role. People just don’t survive accidents of that caliber.
But survive he did, finding himself in a hospital with the love of his life sitting right at his side. It was comforting to have her there, yet as he began to understand the extent of his injuries, and the physical implications of having been immersed in flames, there was the question of whether or not the wedding would go on. Emily, after all, had fallen in love with the man before the accident, but now, neither of them knew exactly who this new man wrapped in bandages would emerge to become.
Listening to Shawn relate the story, you can feel the tangible anxiety and sorrow — to have come so close to finding true love, only to wonder if it would be lost, or if it should be lost, with all the situation was demanding of his young bride. But as Emily tells her side of things, there is fierce light in her eyes as she discusses how the events only brought them closer. Instead of speaking in terms of “he” and “I,” she uses “we” and “us” to describe how they were able to rise from the ashes of those dark days long ago. The healing process had its challenges, of course, but through all the trauma, the surgeries, the physical therapy and the psychological strain, you begin to see how these two incredible individuals came to realize they’d been given something very unique and special. Many of us wonder what we would do if we had a chance to live a certain part of our life over again, but Shawn and Emily were never given that choice — it simply happened. And what they’ve done since then — the life they’ve built with the wisdom of having been given a second chance — is nothing short of inspiring.
So now, you may wonder what all of this has to do with Vemma. Oddly enough, when you get a second chance at life, certain things get put into perspective. For the Stoiks, it was time — time together, not just as husband and wife, but as parents to each wonderful child that later came into their home. They had been given the gift of time, and didn’t want to waste it chained to a desk, working apart from one another to the drumbeat of an hourly wage. They wanted to build something together, a life of joyful passion — the kind of life each one of us wishes we had, but far too often avoid with our petty concerns and overscheduled agendas. Shawn and Emily have learned that life shouldn’t be a mass of regrets, a slew of passed-up opportunities that only cause grey hairs to grow longer. Rather, when they see an opportunity now, whether it be for a smile, a kiss, a hug or yes, even a business opportunity that offers a little more freedom — you can count on them to embrace the moment, taking hold of it for all it’s worth. Because, after all, when you’ve been given a second chance, you’re wise enough not to waste another moment.
Which is why if you ever have the opportunity to visit the Stoiks at their beautiful home in sunny Arizona, you will probably be greeted with a smile and a Verve, as you watch the children playing happily in the distance. You will see a young couple, still in love, speaking about opportunity, financial freedom, but most importantly, how to find a little piece of heaven for yourself.
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