The important things.

I just received an email from my church. One of our members - who has been sick for the past 2 years - is getting worse. He had brain tumor - a very unusual form of cancer, I am not sure of the name. He saw doctors and they treated him very agressively - he was also part of an experimental study for a few months. He was doing very well. Even his scan - one year later - showed no regrowth. Well, he just had an mri and it showed that the tumor id back and it is bigger than it was before. The doctors feel that they have exhausted all of the options - anything that they do now will not cure him, just, maybe, prolong his life. He has decided to go home and have hospice care. I feel even more sad for him and his family because he and his partner have 2 children - probably about 4 and 6 years old - if that. His partner just finished his Ph.D. This is when things were supposed to really come together. While they said that they are at peace with their decsion, I know that it is still hard. And while I cannot imaine how they must feel, I really feel for them. They are young. When he was diagnosed with cancer, everything was fine. The reason why he went to see a doctor was because he had a momentary lapse in speech. After reading the email from them, I felt silly worrying about the things that I worry about. I know that my reality is different from theirs', but it was a reminded to not stress about the things that I cannot control. These two men are wonderful and good people. They have made such a difference in this world, and I know that they will continue to.

So, the purpose of this posting is to remind folks - and myself - to enjoy each moment of life. Most things will work themselves out - stressing about "stuff" helps no one.

This is what makes me happy:
my wife and son, our pet family, my friends near and far, my family near and far, the sun, the rain, laughing, going for walks, playing cars with my son, taking the train, driving my car on a scenic New England road, picking apples, the first snow, rainbows, kayaking, Santa Claus, a good book, a trasy entertainment mag, long phone calls, getting an email from someone I haven't heard from in a while... I can keep going. These are the little things that make life so wonderful. xoxox