Thanksgiving

All during treatment I said I did not want to remember anything.  As the days pass and I return more and more to "normal", it sometimes seems that the last 9 months never really happened.  Suddenly now I don't want to forget any of it.  I don't want to be "Cancer Boy" the rest of my life but I also feel funny about letting all of those memories go.  Which brings me to Thanksgiving...

Right after the Ten Days of Hell I was telling anyone who would listen that getting cancer was a blessing and that I was glad it had happened.  I knew how stupid that sounded but I really meant it.  I just wasn't sure why.  After reflecting on it over the last couple of weeks, I figured some things out.  First and foremost I was thankful for all of the people that were in any way involved in my treatment and recovery and there are a BUNCH of you.

But the reason I remain glad I went through what I did is that my eyes were opened to the people and things I walked by EVERY SINGLE DAY and either took them for granted or was too busy to pay any attention.  For the life of me, I can't remember one thing that I was in such a hurry to do or see that I just blew right by, oblivious.  The real shame would have been for me to live the rest of my life with those blinders on and miss the beauty I was stepping over and driving past.

I don't wish illness on anyone but I do have a wish for everyone who reads this.  I hope that sometime during this holiday season you see or hear something for the first time only to discover it has been there the whole time.  I hope that discovery leads you to search for whatever else you may have been missing.

God Bless you all and Merry Christmas,
Chris