The other day before church, someone came up to me and said, “I know that you have other things on your mind but please know that we are praying for you.”  and hugged me.  My inner monologue (that voice inside your head…no, not THAT one, the other one) said, “Huh, what?  Ohhhhh.”  Obviously he was referring to Trey’s treatment options being zero at this point and the impending result of letting cancer go freely and unchecked.  The thing is, I did not have that the least bit on my mind at that moment.

Yes, it was a careful if not entirely appropriate way to approach me and I took absolutely no offense to it.  However, I chuckled…inwardly of course.  I thought that it was a perfect example of the life of a cancer parent not necessarily matching what you think.  It was far from my mind….at that moment.  It may not have been, but it was.

Now, know this, I am documented as not being a fan of perspective.  To say that someone (typically/namely us) have it worse than you should somehow make you feel better about the crap in your life, is just not effective.  Yet, I do want you to see something that has hit me the last few days.

You see, nothing is going on right now.  Trey goes in for a blood draw once per week (or is scheduled to for now) and stays if he needs any blood, platelets, etc.  Other than that, he goes to school/church/grandma’s or grabs the breast of whoever is babysitting him (while making them love him, well played if you ask me).  However, according to doctors these days are few (relatively speaking of course).  Granted, they don’t KNOW, they can only prognosticate.  Yes, only God knows for sure.  The truth is we really don’t know.  At any given moment your world can be turned upside down.

The result for everyone when that day happens is that we look back at days were “nothing” was going on and think, “Man, I wish I could have those days back.”  It’s not just with your children, or even your family.  Life changes on a dime.  Yet, we fritter away the magic that each day brings.  It’s cold out.  The wind is blowing and  the clouds are blocking most of the sun.  I have to run down to CHP because a certain twosome left “taggie” (Trey’s most cherished treasure…his blanket) at the hospital today.  Yet as I type this I am (or can be) mesmerized at the sound of the leaves blowing in the wind.  How magical.  I can think of how excited Trey was to be done with the hospital (that he was disappointed to leave so early) and still get to school in time for lunch.  I have a meeting at church tonight that has, in theory, nothing to do with the church (we’re just letting a group use the building) yet has many people I love and care for in it.  I get to coach a bunch of girls this afternoon that have gone through another day that is the war of adolescence.

What I’m saying is that we are to live today…yet work for tomorrow.  It’s not “eat, drink, be merry for tomorrow we die” not at all.  Too many people (myself included) work through each day and hope for tomorrow to be better or grant us some relief.  No.  Live today because someday you will look back and miss it.