this week's highlights...
-eating lots of canned peaches
-dinner with my father
-a couple of golden moments with my kids...
and this
she's lived in my neighborhood the 7+ years that i've lived here....she's always walking around town...i mean really 'walking' miles and stuff...she used to walk with a partner much taller than she is...the partner always wore the bandana...you know...no hair underneath...it turned out to be her sister who is a 2 time cancer survivor....
i just caught up with her yesterday....now she's got the bandana on...no hair underneath....crap.
i asked for permission to inquire about 'what was up.' and she kindly and gently shared that she is now going through treatment, that she's doing well, but that she's taken time off of work to focus on getting well...
i don't get it...this gal probably eats right, she walks like a maniac, etc.
anyway, for that 3 or 4 minutes in time i was able to put internal struggles aside, poor sleep aside, domestic obligations aside (as my kids were racing up to the front door...they often 'ring' the doorbell before i get up there...the dog loves it ;) and 'listen.' listening is a huge gift for me...i hope it is for her too. i'm not sure my responses offered anything...i hope so... 'i'm sorry, God bless you, what's your name again? i'll be praying for you...you look great...you look really well.'
maybe it was a 'two way street?' now that i think of it....she gave me something...hmmmm...i'll have to come back to that....fin.
"i don't get it...this gal probably eats right, she walks like a maniac, etc."
ReplyDeleteTodd, take a minute to think about that one. What if she ate wrong and didn't get much exercise? Would it be alright to blame her for having cancer?
I'm a firm believer that the keys to good health are proper diet, rest and exercise but bad things still happen. I'm touchy about this issue because I have an ongoing condition, diabetes, for which I am often blamed. Self treatment is my responsibility but diabetes is just something that happened to me.
Why do things happen? Hell, I don't know. If you find out, let me know. OK?
Jon,
ReplyDeletei feel what you're saying...and let me explain...cuz i didn't mean it that way...and i wouldn't desire to be insensitive to 'unwarranted/seemingly undeserved issues' like what you mention because 'i've been there...
-depression (i can be big time touchy when folks are insensitive to that one...cuz i've been there)
-high cholesterol- they started in on me when i was 27/28 and about 185 pounds....i'm over 6 foot??!!!
anyway, so that's not what i meant, i was just ranting a bit...and God bless her, this gal was such a support for her sister (a survivor) and she's maintained a real disciplined life...i could say some similar things about my dad who's always worked out, but has had issues with blood pressure, diabetes, a few strokes, etc.
'Why do things happen? Hell, I don't know. If you find out, let me know. OK?'
no good answers bro...it sucks sometimes...ulitmately...for me, that day, with my load of crap i was wrestling with...a.) i got outside of myself b.) she graciously gave me the opportunity to do so...
thankful.