Hanging in There

It's time for another progress report. I had a history paper due two weeks ago. It was the first draft of a project due at the end of the semester. My history prof tore it to shreds. I spoke to other folks in my class and he did the same thing to them, so I didn't feel so bad. The prof is a nice guy, just a tough prof. But, this is History Honors, so we aren't supposed to be slouches. Tomorrow I have a Spanish quiz, next week I have my first Econ exam. School is moving right along.

In the midst of all this, my Dad is not doing well. My Mom told me the other day she "didn't tell (us kids) everything" about my Dad's latest MRI. Not only did the docs find more cancer in Dad's brain and at the top of his spinal column, but they also found it in his adrenal glands (on top of the kidneys) and in his sacrum (at the base of his spinal cord). I'm trying to focus on my schoolwork, but my parents are very close in my thoughts. My Mom said the docs haven't given up and neither should we. One of the side affects of the radiation that my Dad is going though is memory loss. That will be hard on all of us. I suggested to my siblings that we each make a "memory book" of our families for Dad, using one of the small photo albums that one finds at Wal-Mart.

Mom told me last night she has been writing as therapy and has several books entered in competitions close to where she lives. She said she wants Dad to live to see one of her books published. I would like that, too. I know this is a very hard time for her. I'm glad she finds therapy in her writing. I recently went through a time where I, too, found therapy through writing. A very good friend of mine moved away last year and I had a hard time letting him go. It helped to write about him. I once heard a poet say he wrote poetry because it was cheaper than a therapist.

Life moves forward. It has to. I cannot stay in one place and hope to grow as a person. This weekend, I will be in Chattanooga at a volleyball tournament with my daughter, laptop and schoolbooks in tow. My parents will be finishing up with Dad's all-brain radiation treatments. My friend will be thawing out in Wisconsin.

Life is dynamic. We live, we grow, we learn. Stay tuned . . .