There are times when the clock seems to stop. Certain moments become memories and time becomes a precious gift. You hold the things that feel comfortable close to your heart because they’ve always been a part of your world.

Then you blink. Life happens and everything you once knew as familiar is no longer that way.

You start to look around for something you recognize, but suddenly realize you’ve grown up — and so has your perspective.

I’ve come to terms with this during different stages of my life from learning to live with cerebral palsy to having friends who are wise beyond their years. Those two things have influenced the way I look at the world and everything else around me, with the help of my family. I wouldn’t be who I am without that strong foundation and guidance.

I used to think all of this meant I was close to becoming a poised, responsible person who could take on the world. I thought that was all you needed to get through life. Now I realize that I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Having those values instilled in me helped me see why I was wrong — and why it’s OK to “go against the grain”.

I was prepared to fight for my dreams because of my disability. I was also ready to prove myself and my worth to anyone who was willing to give me a chance.

What I was not prepared for, however, was the pain that comes with being an adult and eventually having to let go of many things that I knew to be familiar and comfortable.

Unfortunately, most of those comforts were brought into my life by people who are no longer here.

I was taught some of the simplest lessons by my grandparents, a few of which were not gentle or pretty.

Even so, I learned a lot about the kind of person I wanted to be by watching and listening to how they lived their lives. I tended to pay very close attention to the way they treated others as well because they always treated me with love even if it was in different ways.

Now, I realize all the things that have made me strong over the years were preparing me for something much bigger. Having said goodbye to all my grandparents — two on my mom’s side and one on my dad’s — I now understand the importance of cherishing every moment and memory that’s made.

It may not seem like a big deal at first because the moment might be short. The memory that’s made might not even mean anything to anyone else. If there are any families out there like mine, however, there’s never a boring or dull moment in the house.

There’s always something going on, always someone going here or there. It’s in these chaotic flashes of life that the most powerful memories are made, whether they’re in plain sight or hidden.

I didn’t think losing my grandparents would be engraved in my brain. Nor did I think I’d ever be writing about it.

I’m very fortunate to have spent many fond years with each of my grandparents before they passed away. All I have left are the times we shared and the emotions that are still attached to them. That’s all I’ve truly wanted.

If that’s all I’m going to get in return, I’m going to make sure everyone within reach remembers the impact these three people had on my life. It’s not because they were always right or had everything figured out. It’s because they were tough, tenacious and resilient to the end. I know they wouldn’t want me to make excuses for the way I am, and I never will. I just hope to continue to make them proud.

We all live and die by our own code, whatever it may be. It’s a part of the circle of life. Make the most of it while it lasts.

Erin Kelly, 33, was born with cerebral palsy in Korea, and lives in Altoona. In addition to this column, she also writes for online publications The Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, Upworthy, and Real Talk Magazine. Email her at WriterWheels28@gmail.com.