"So you almost died twice?"

This was a comment from my husband last night. I was reminded of a memory from childhood that involved a friend from my neighborhood. She and I are now friends on facebook. I wrote something about a "silly memory" I had from 3rd grade. Apparently I had blocked out the trauma of this event. I read him the following: "Its a memory I will never forget. We were making ice burgs in the thin ice while laying on our stomachs hanging over the edge of the dock. Somehow you reached too far out & the next thing I knew you dove off head first & were under the ice looking up at me. Stephanie, I don't know what came over me at that moment, because for as young as we were you should have drown. You were going farther & father under the ice. I grabbed your leg. And kept pulling until your head was in the hole we made & I grabbed your hair & lifted your face out of the water. You had flipped face down again. The memory of you looking back up at me through the ice haunts me to this day. I was screaming your name, you were kicking & trying to get out from under the ice. I vividly remember telling you to "STAND- UP". We were only in maybe 2.5 feet of water. I do remember you climbing back onto the dock. I tell this story often. There is truly NO explanation of how you lived. I don't remember running up to the house at all. But I do remember how blue you were. I wondered how much of it you remembered. I didn't remember the footed PJs though. That sure was scary!"
His question, the second incident, was a similar period of time, within a few years. I fell off my bike and got a very serious concussion from the accident. In college I was learning about brain trauma and remember my Mom's recollection of the story "you looked up at me and said 'Mommy I can't see you' ". I called my Mom after that lecture and said "I had that serious of a concussion?".
This is just weighing so heavy on my heart. Have I really had two near death experiences in my life that I have never thought enough of to express my gratitude to the Lord? But this falling into the ice incident makes me realize that someone actually saved my life. A little child saved my life! The bike accident? A stranger carried me to my uncle's house (where we were visiting). Not sure that is the same as saving my life. But clearly two very instrumental people in my life that I have never thought much about in the past 25+ years.
I have always had a perspective on life that you meet people and everyone leaves some impact on you. Most of that impact you will never ever know how it has affected you. So it makes me reflect on how little I appreciate people in my life. Not so much family and friends, I think I do appreciate them, but the "little people" who come in and out of your life.
I guess the whole point of this, besides being so grateful to still be alive and able to "create" more life, is I need to be more aware of what people "do fo me". Maybe it is some crazy lady at the store who yelled at her child and that makes me give Lilah extra hugs that day. Whatever it is I feel that people have the power to impact your life. If I can learn to only let these influences be postitive, I would be ahead of the game. But that isn't always possible.
I hope I can be more appreciative of people, especially those that do make a HUGE impact on me.
I try to thank the Lord daily for all my blessings. I sure am VERY blessed in life!