FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY we first heard the words “Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.”

Since then…

….we’ve been through 3 seasons of treatment, put a zillion miles on the car, learned more than we ever wanted to know about getting affairs in order and met a whole bunch of neat people we might not have otherwise met.

We’ve gained a grandson, 2 granddaughters and a son-in-law, lost Ma, changed churches, tried to keep up with old friends, parted with our dogs, acquired more bicycles, kept voluminous journals, opened up, shut down, added on to the house, stopped writing, started writing, petted other people’s dogs, became more comfortable around sick people, got to know our neighbors better, made the acquaintance of professional counselors, saw our elderly neighbors taken out by the emergency squad way too many times, replaced old sidewalks, extended our gardens…

A whole lot of living.

* * *

THIS WEEK I reviewed and reworked the leukemia posts. Cut out the fluff. Tried to be clearer. There are people who are just coming upon them.

TODAY we head to Columbus for a regular monthly checkup. Actually it’s the first day of Cycle 12 of the current clinical trial. Twelve 4-week cycles. Almost a full year. It seemed like such a mountain to climb at the start and now we talk about it in past tense.

* * *

LAST MONTH I went to Honduras.
THIS PAST MONDAY he slid into third.

The last piece of peach pie was eaten yesterday.

A whole lot of living.

Medicine, at times, can give you back your life, but then it’s up to you to go live it.