Some days, no ? make that most days, we take a lot of things for granted. We take it for granted that we?ll wake up in the morning. We assume that we?ll make it home from work that evening. We figure that we?ll have plenty of chances to see that loved one again. We believe, without realizing that we believe it, that the status quo will always be the status quo.

Every now and then, however, something slaps us across the face and makes us sit up straight and realize that just isn?t always the case. It forces us to realize the wonder of the life we have, no matter how simple it may be. It makes us count our blessings, as the old hymn said, "one by one".

With Father?s Day just around the corner, the timing for what happened to me on Tuesday could not have been better. No, I didn?t see it coming, and no, I didn?t plan it. This one just happened. This became one of those days in the simplest and most fleeting of moments. It was so simple, yet somehow became profound ... I read the newspaper.

I know, you were expecting a bit more. Let me explain.

I subscribe to and read the USA Today. If you?re familiar with that particular paper, you?ll know that on the side of each section?s front page is a column with a bunch of highlight style stories from around the globe. Well, today, at the bottom of this column on the sports page, was a little blurb whose headline forced my attention to it immediately. It read simply "Boy pitches no-hitter after dad?s funeral." Yeah, I know, you would have had to read it too. The story hit me like a sucker punch.

It seems the boy, who at 12 years old is just a few months older than my eldest son, attended his father?s funeral the day before he pitched a no-hitter for his Little League baseball team. Talk about putting a lump in your throat. I had to wipe a couple of tears before I moved on. Oh, the things we take for granted.

This article isn?t about this young boy. Instead, it is about what is important in life. Tragic stories like this put things in perspective, don?t they? I mean, guys playing games for million?s of dollars ? and complaining ? begins to look pretty dastardly when put against our youngster here. Yelling at the kids when you get home because they ruined your favorite (you can fill in this blank) makes you feel like quite the louse when you think about the fact that hey ? at least you?re there to see them.

It?s one of those moments that make parenting, sports, and any number of other things, look a whole lot different. It makes us sit back and smell the coffee. It forces us to look inside ourselves and realize that we don?t always like what we see. It makes you think of all the kids out there whose parents are off fighting a war, or who maybe won?t be coming back. It makes a lot of things very, very trivial that you used to feel were important.

It grounds you.

So, with Father?s Day around the corner, I thought I would put down a few of my thoughts and maybe help a few other dad?s around the world take stock of their priorities, and maybe take a few minutes this week to stop, pause for a moment, and give their kids a long, firm hug. It isn?t the most profound thing you?ll ever do, and it likely won?t be the most amazing thing you?ll ever do.

It will, however, be the most lasting and powerful thing you?ll ever do.

And that, from a life perspective, is a no-hitter.