Mitch Whiting

It's been 3 years since we sold our TV.

When the pandemic began, my wife and I decided

We would trade time in front of the TV,
for time creating memories as a family outdoors.

For us, this one decision has meant hours of:

Fishing
Telling stories
Singing songs
Playing in the dirt
Splashing in the creek
And climbing on playgrounds

Creating countless memories I will never forget.

After years of fishing together
my son finally learned to properly hold a trout.

He was jumping-out-of-his-waders excited.

I always imagined having a picture like this.

But I imagined being an old man fishing with one of my grandkids.

This moment was a reminder to me that
we don't have to wait until retirement to live our dreams.

Everyone thinks they want to be rich,

But in reality, we want the things we think being rich would give us:

More time to spend with those we love,
doing the things we love.

You don't have to be rich
to live a life of richness.

Take the time to do what you love
with the people you love today.

This is Mitch's wife, Tatum.

Mitch passed out while we were fishing with a guide on a small Lake in rural Arkansas this morning.

It was very sudden and scary, but the fishing guide and I were able to perform CPR on him and we revived him after being unconscious for about 45 seconds.

It was a long day with a lot of tears and unknowns.

We called an ambulance and they took him to the nearest hospital to get checked out.

After a clean ultrasound on his heart came back we were cleared to go.

When he was getting up, he passed out again, and we were readmitted.

After several more hours of being on IVs he was looking much better and feeling stronger.

I was kind of a mess the entire day because I kept watching my husband turn completely purple and become unresponsive.

And after everything the past few months it was hard for my mind not to come up with the worst case scenario.

By evening, we were finally discharged and had to make for 3 hour drive back to Bentonville (where we are visiting friends for the week).

He's sleeping now and seems to be doing much better. The conclusion was that it was a combination of extreme fatigue, dizziness and drowsiness (brought on by medication that he took for his cough).

So grateful for this angel human.

Please take this has a sign to thank God for the special people He has placed in your life.

And to brush up on your CPR. When you need to use it, it will be too late.