October

The pictures on our kitchen calendar are family photos (thanks to the creativity of my sister-in-law, Tonya), dominated heavily by my three year-old nephew, Davis.  Today we turned the page to see this.  Mom and I smiled.  Turning the page on the calendar is a big deal.  None of us expected Mom to live this long, or that her quality of life would remain so high.

I don’t post here often because my mind tells me that I need to say something profound. Silly mind.  Yet despite the significant circumstances, life often feels very day-in and day-out.

But it is the day-to-day reality that has brought us to October.  And to the end of round seven of chemo.  And while many hours of the day feel tedious, there are profound moments.  Knowing there is a good possibility that Mom will die in her sleep, saying goodnight is a big deal.  And saying good morning.

When Mom is gone and chemo is hopefully a distant memory, I hope I can remember the value of day-in and day-out, and that turning the page on the calendar is a big deal.  At my best, I stop expecting life to be profound, and I allow it to be.