Fellow Travelers

I used to teach English in Dietrich Idaho.  It was a great experience. As I look at many of my contemporary's children and realize they are as old as I was when I started teaching, I wonder what Wayne Perron was thinking. 

He hired me over the phone because his wife Carolynn thought I wrote a nice letter.  It was an adventure to say the least.  It was hard, and challenging and frightening all at the same time.  But during those years, I picked up some great friends. People still in my life. 

I left Dietrich after 5 years for law school.  Again another adventure.  One filled with conflict and anxiety and angst.  More deep and lasting relationships.  The sort of relationship that a moment, a hug and a cool beer can be all that is needed to melt away the years. 

I came to Seattle and built a life.  A good life.  A life full of friends and colleagues and clients and family and a faith family..... a life.  A life with deep deep roots.  Sort of figured out I would spend a number of years here continuing our life. I tried to escape to Eugene once but the planets did not align and here we stayed. 

It was very good we did because I was not aware of a new adventure and challenge I would face in 2004 and again in 2011.  Never figured my whole life would be tossed up in the air and hijacked not only once but twice.  I would be making new friends, new fellow travelers to add to old.  I have again gathered a new clan of Mom's and Dad's and other assorted loved-ones.  It is not a journey I wished to take.  It was a journey that swept me along for awhile before I found my footing in this strange new place called Cancer World.  

I looked at my daughter today as she semi-slept waiting for a blood draw and realized she looks great compared to others in the waiting room.   We are almost there.  We might have spotted the tunnel. I can now see the end again. 

We were sitting in seats we had occupied when we went to see the nurse for her Pre-Op in August of 2004.  She was going to have a biopsy taken from the bump on her head.  As I sat in those very seats so many years ago,  I said a small prayer and thanked God I was not waiting for the Hem/Onc docs, just the brain surgeon.  How weird is that?

Well as odd as it may sound, our fellow travelers have made this a journey worth taking. 

 

 
We are headed back to this child.....   one day, one blood draw, one appointment at a time.