Monday, May 2

Quote of the Day:  Sometimes in tragedy we find our life’s purpose- the eye sheds a tear to find its focus. Robert Brault

It’s a sad food day when the only thing that sounds good to you are Sour Patch Kids!

Exercise Log:  Went 6.30 w/ Susie- we had to estimate because my Garmin watch wasn’t working.  I drove to Susie’s house and it was chilly to begin with but it was so beautiful to look at the mountains from her house in Pepperwood.  We walked all over the neighborhood and then down on Wasatch.  We even went on a trail that people warned us had seen some cougar activity lately.  Didn’t phase Susie- she’s not afraid of cougars or dogs for that matter.  (+3.23)  So, I have been putting in 5.1 miles for the past 28 days which makes my total of miles 142.8 and marathon total 5.45.  I know that we are suppose to enjoy the journey and not wish for life to pass quicker than it is but I am so glad that I will be finished w/ chemo # 4 tomorrow.  I’m still climbing that mountain but I’m not that far from the summit.  The walking has saved me though, meaning these friends who insure that I have someone to walk with everyday have saved me.  Susie and I were talking about Sue B. today and saying how she is an angel disguised as a human!  So true.

I was thinking about a former tennis player that I coached at Skyline who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma when she was a sophomore.  She was a varsity player on a team that would eventually take State so she was a great player with a lot of potential.  I had only coached her one season when she was diagnosed.  I didn’t know anything about what it meant to have cancer then, really hadn’t known anyone on a personal level who had suffered with it.  I remember visiting with her in her home, but until now never really had the knowledge to consider what that meant for her.  She had the home-school mentor come in while she was being treated and spent the next year recovering from this illness.  I can only imagine how daunting and difficult that must have been for this darling girl who was physically active, social and smart and around sixteen.  To be removed from everything that she knew except her family and she was blessed with a great family to support her. When she came back the next year, she tried to regain her spot on the tennis team and after a few matches it became very evident to me that she wouldn’t be able to play in that spot.  Not only was she struggling physically but mentally she was having a lot of issues.  Tennis is such a mental sport and with all she had been through, she would need more time before she was at the level she had been at.  I knew as a coach I had to be honest with her.  It was very difficult to tell her that she wouldn’t be able to play on the varsity team that year.  For her, she didn’t want a position on the junior varsity and so she gave up playing competitive tennis.  I really struggled with this because I wanted her to continue to play and get back to where she was, but maybe for her it wasn’t worth her effort.  I’m sure she put her time into other great endeavors because she was that kind of girl.  It’s a lesson to me in that maybe after an illness, all that had been a big part of our lives, looks different and won’t hold the same place in our priorities.  Last time I heard news of her, she was doing great so I pray for a long, full life for her.

Last night Maggie insisted on wearing a cap just like the one I was wearing (luckily Kathy E. gave me 2 of them).  Children have this marvelous way of relating that makes us feel like we do belong and we do matter.  When do we lose that skill?