My husband and I were driving around doing what we normally do on vacation: looking for thrift stores.

(Side note: this is really my husband's thing, but I do find it to be fun. Often times, we couple it with my favorite thing to look for on vacation: affogatos.)

"There's one right there," he said, as he got in the left-turn lane.

I looked at the name. "It's called Second Chance," I said, as I burst into tears.

Okay, I know. I do write about crying a lot. But under these circumstances, I totally get a pass.

The day before this, I flew to Cleveland to visit my husband, as he had just started a summer work training there. It was the 4th of July, and I was visiting him over the holiday weekend.

When I landed, I saw that I had a message from him saying to call. There had been an accident and he was in the ER. When I deplaned and called, it had just been confirmed: the high-force impact he felt as something came flying down on him, sending him to the ground in the middle of an elementary school playground, at 2pm in the afternoon, was not firework shrapnel, but an actual freaking bullet.

Someone a mile or so away decided to celebrate their freedom on this 4th of July afternoon by shooting a gun into the air. This bullet found its way into my husband’s neck in just the perfect place—as it did not cause any damage beside some discomfort.

After spending the evening in the hospital, he was released that night, bullet and all. Besides a sore neck and the beginning stages of working through trauma like this, Sam and I had a regular day. We visited Lake Erie, and I learned to skip stones.

We drove around looking for thrift stores and someplace to get me some ice cream and espresso (that's what an affagato is, and they are soooo good).

I hadn't really lost it since I heard the news. He was okay. He survived this crazy thing. Besides his sore neck, he was pretty normal.

But as soon as I saw the sign, it hit me. He truly has a second chance.

Why am I sharing this? Well, though this was a crazy experience and a potent moment, it’s also true for all of us all of the time.

We’re always starting over in one way or another. Life requires us to begin again, in the most mundane, the most devastating, and the most joyful moments.

All moments turn over, eventually.

Sometimes life hands us distinct moments in time.

Sometimes we create them.

What is something you need a second chance on? Something that you’re ready to begin again? Something that you walked away from that you’re ready to start over again?

Let me know in the comments below. It doesn’t matter how silly or how serious.

Each moment is your chance to begin again. This is how to live on the Upward Spiral.