Sunday column: Most important day

What was the most important day of your life?
I read that question somewhere recently, and it really got me thinking.
This is not about the best day of your life or the worst day of your life, but the most important day.
I've had this question on my mind for a week, and I still haven't been able to narrow down the single most important day of my life. But, I did come up with a list of strong contenders.

The first day of high school
By no means was my first day of high school the best day of my life, but it does rank high on the list of important days. At freshman orientation on that first day, I met the girl who would become my very best friend. For more than a decade we've been loyal, stuck-like-glue friends, even during the times when we didn't even really like each other. We've gone through good, bad and really bad times together — and some really good times, too.
There's nothing better than a true friend who you know you can count on and be honest with. She was there on that first day of high school, at my college graduation, my wedding day and all the ordinary and extraordinary days in between. And I've been there for her. Always will be.

The day my family moved from Baton Rouge to Monroe
Again, this was not a particularly good day in my life, but it was important because of the things I learned about myself. After having lived in the "big city" for 13 years and finally carving out my niche at a huge elementary school, I was uprooted and moved a couple hundred miles north to Monroe. I'd never before in my life experienced such a change, and I had to learn how to adapt.
Everything in Monroe was smaller: The six of us moved from a big, two-story house into a cramped apartment for several months. My school had one section per grade level, as opposed to four sections per grade at the Baton Rouge school. The smaller city seemed to offer much less to do than where we'd come from.
But my family rallied together, and we made it work until it felt like home. It took a long time, but it did happen.

The day I got married
I know, I know, it's such a cliché to say your wedding day is the most important day in your life. But think about it … Shouldn't the day that you pledge your eternal love and life to another person be pretty important? Well, it was for me. It was also one of the best days of my life. It was so good, in fact, that I cried when it was over because I didn't want the day to end.

The day my husband found the right doctor
Even back before he was my husband, Nick wasn't 100 percent well. I saw him go to doctors and try medication that didn't make him feel better or do what it was supposed to do. The day he found the right doctor and the right medication was so important because it changed both of our lives. He looked, felt and acted better than I'd ever seen him, and I was so happy and thankful that he was no longer suffering. A healthy husband is a good husband.

Those four days are some of the most important so far in my life. I still don't feel like I could definitively choose just one. Maybe that's because that all-important day hasn't happened yet.