“Keep your face always upward toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.”

-Walt Whitman

I could get really philosophical right now. My family says I have a knack for the wishy-washy (they use a more vibrant term), but what I have witnessed this past week is such a flood of love and support from friends and family, that I cannot help but feel slapped in the face on how I was handling our gift of life. Two weeks ago I had a definite list of priorities. Figure out my job situation, train to be faster (or fast as, let’s be realistic here) Tyler on bike,  train my dog to stop barking at select people he doesn’t like, train my dog to not bark at animals on tv, train my dog to not cry when his armpits are touched, and follow Ms. Leigh’s assigned diet to keep me healthy. Easy enough, but enough to keep me busy.

Then we got slapped. All of us. Every single one of you. I know you feel it. What the heck is going on here? Why Tyler? Why the most healthy, strong, beautiful, kind, loving, hard-working, passionate person we know? God knows. A few weeks ago my coworker was diagnosed with cancer, and asked me, ‘What did I do, why am I being punished?’. This is not a punishment, I told her, you can’t see it now, you might not see it for a very long time, but this is a lesson. Her eyes got big and I saw the wheels turning, ‘Maybe this will bring my family closer?’.

Maybe. I said.

So here we are, and my heart is open, and your hearts are open, and I have played team sports my whole life, but I have never felt a camaraderie like this. My priorities have changed, and at the top of my list: FAMILY, FRIENDS. Make my relationships count. This is all we have. This is what we are here for.

Tyler with my soccer star cousin Hamid

So Team Tyler, without further delay, I have the current update for our Hero.

He is kicking cancer in the heart, literally. So far the most uncomfortable side effects are coming from the steroids. Hiccups, irritability, difficulty sleeping, an overall ‘weird’ feeling. Sound harmless but they are magnified in this 10 x 10 room. Cell counts are currently still normal, but are expected to drop significantly in the next few days. That is when we should expect weakness and an increased risk for infection. His spirit is strong and his eyes are bright. So far, so great.

Bracelets are not in yet, I will post as soon as they are delivered.  And, special thanks to my lovely cousin Kathryn Kopczynski for sharing the quote at the top–Tyler loves Whitman  🙂