Life is....
You know those people who just make your day so much better by being in their presence for a short time? I have many such persons in my life. I had the privilege of taking one of them to lunch today. She is just an absolute gem. So much fun! This woman and I have so many stories of going on band tours together with our kids. I have tons of dirt on her from those trips! ;) All the smirking behind the band leader's back, the little side trips we would make to get ice cream when our kids were setting up and practicing, the long nights spent on gym floors giggling over all the snores of the other Mothers (yes, we heard you!!)...so many fun memories. She and I have watched our kids grow up together. Her daughter and my son are great friends who used to compete for the best grades in the class. Many afternoons and evenings have been spent together on the school bleachers screaming ourselves hoarse for our favorite team...the Sharks. Now her daughter attends a different school, but we parents always make sure the kids have plenty of opportunities to hang out together. We love their family.
So when I learned a few months ago that this dear friend was about to embark on the very battle of and for her life I was devastated. It's still hard to trust my emotions when I'm around her. She is so dear to me. The last thing I want to be is the mournful friend who stares at her as if she's going to melt away.
She is fighting the beast of cancer, which has invaded her colon, liver, and lungs. But she is much more of a beast. And she has wonderful support from her husband, daughters, church family, and a host of friends. She has an unflagging positive attitude. Today she told me that her oncologist sat her down before she started chemo and said "Do NOT read the internet. I want you to fight as if your life depended on it. Because it does. I want you to do everything I tell you and fight fight fight!!" And she is. Like a trooper. She feels like crap, and gets winded so easily, but she is always smiling and looking for the next outing, the next good news, the next....it is my earnest prayer that she has many more nexts.
Proverbs 17:22 tells us that a cheerful heart is good medicine. So that's my goal with my friend. I send her silly texts, she always was one for a good belly laugh. And today at lunch we laughed so hard over some circumstances of our lives that she spent a few minutes catching her breath. After she'd recovered I leaned over and said "I forgot you have cancer! I'm gonna have to shorten my jokes til you can breathe better!" She tells her daughters "You need to do what I'm asking! Don't MAKE me pull the cancer card on you!"
It's a good thing to look for the humorous, especially in times of extreme pain and uncertainty. I don't know what her future is. I know what her today is. And we lived it well. I treasure the time I had with her. We are going to have many more such days. Her husband is getting ready to go back to work and he wants someone to be with her during the day just to stand by. It would be an honor to fill that need. I already am planning on bringing her favorite foods so I can coax her into possibly putting a little meat on those bones. And I told her I am an expert toilet scrubber and doer of laundry.
So treasure your day, whatever and whomever it holds. Live it today....and...
...make it a great day!!
So when I learned a few months ago that this dear friend was about to embark on the very battle of and for her life I was devastated. It's still hard to trust my emotions when I'm around her. She is so dear to me. The last thing I want to be is the mournful friend who stares at her as if she's going to melt away.
She is fighting the beast of cancer, which has invaded her colon, liver, and lungs. But she is much more of a beast. And she has wonderful support from her husband, daughters, church family, and a host of friends. She has an unflagging positive attitude. Today she told me that her oncologist sat her down before she started chemo and said "Do NOT read the internet. I want you to fight as if your life depended on it. Because it does. I want you to do everything I tell you and fight fight fight!!" And she is. Like a trooper. She feels like crap, and gets winded so easily, but she is always smiling and looking for the next outing, the next good news, the next....it is my earnest prayer that she has many more nexts.
Proverbs 17:22 tells us that a cheerful heart is good medicine. So that's my goal with my friend. I send her silly texts, she always was one for a good belly laugh. And today at lunch we laughed so hard over some circumstances of our lives that she spent a few minutes catching her breath. After she'd recovered I leaned over and said "I forgot you have cancer! I'm gonna have to shorten my jokes til you can breathe better!" She tells her daughters "You need to do what I'm asking! Don't MAKE me pull the cancer card on you!"
It's a good thing to look for the humorous, especially in times of extreme pain and uncertainty. I don't know what her future is. I know what her today is. And we lived it well. I treasure the time I had with her. We are going to have many more such days. Her husband is getting ready to go back to work and he wants someone to be with her during the day just to stand by. It would be an honor to fill that need. I already am planning on bringing her favorite foods so I can coax her into possibly putting a little meat on those bones. And I told her I am an expert toilet scrubber and doer of laundry.
So treasure your day, whatever and whomever it holds. Live it today....and...
...make it a great day!!
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