When I started this blog, I wrote about what led me to decide to quit my two jobs and move out of state. One of my motivations was the terminal illness and subsequent death of a co-worker. It was a reminder of that ol' cliche, "Life is short." It's a cliche for a reason: it's true. And since we don't know how short our lives will be, we had better learn to live in the moment and enjoy the people and things that are important to us.
Although I didn't need a reminder of the brevity of life, I got one this week. A former co-worker of mine has been battling cancer for 3-4 years now. If I remember correctly, she originally found a lump in her neck that turned out to be a tumor. She's had two surgeries along with chemo and radiation treatments over the last couple of years, but now her cancer is back in a devastating way. It has spread into the base of her skull and her brain, among other places.
The way she has handled her illness thus far--with grace and an incredibly positive attitude--has been truly inspirational. So has the way she has continued to live her life. She has kept her life as normal as possible within the confines of her disease, and she has endeavored to invest her time well. She has continued to work, and outside of work she has spent time with the people who are important in her life: her friends; her wonderful husband to whom she has been married over 20 years; her kids; and the joy of her life, her five grandchildren.
Now that her cancer is back, she is going on disability and is scheduled to have an 18-hour surgery the first week of September, followed by chemo and radiation. I wish her well and send positive thoughts out into the universe for her every day. Regardless of what happens, though, she will know that she lived and enjoyed her life, and that is what we all should strive to know when our time is up.
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