Thursday, January 28, 2016

All the Other Days



Many of you know that my dad was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.  The months of December and January have been filled with doctor visits and x-rays and worry and prayer. My dad is really lucky because his cancer was found early and could be treated with surgery. He is at home recovering, and while the healing process will take some time, Dad is effectively cancer-free. Gratitude and immense relief have replaced the worry. At some point during these last weeks, I saw this Charlie Brown cartoon on Facebook, and it resonated.  It has probably been around forever, but I have repeated the message to everyone I know lately! Coming from a long line of superstar worriers, I think that what this little message drove home for me is the value of today. This day. This opportunity to live.

Someday, hopefully in the very distant future, my father will leave this earth. But likely, he will not today. Today we are both still here where I can give him a hug and tell him the latest funny thing my daughter said. Today my dad can watch Family Feud on TV and make a joke with Mom and eat Uncle Marty's famous ham on homemade bread. Today we get to live.

As we move out from under the fog of worry of the past few weeks, I endeavor to let go of the worry of what is to come.  I want to be more Snoopy and less Charlie Brown. "All the other days" are flying by, and I don't want to waste a single one.