I can't believe that it was in the high 60s this weekend! It was a little chillier last night when I cooked on the grill but I'm pretty sure there was snow on the ground when I was doing this last year.
Last year we were also waiting on pins and needles for the results of the biopsy that we were sure was cancer. Even though Mary knew how awful chemo could be she was ready to start it up again if it meant that she would live. But what an awful prospect that was for her, even drugged, to face chemo again.
So now, I'm reliving the beginning of the end for my dear, sweet Mary. We didn't know it at the time but even then cancer was rapidly invading her body. We wouldn't know for another month or so that there was nothing else to do but prepare for her death.
So life went on...I took pictures, worked on clearing ice from the driveway, and dealt with cruel and insensitive relatives. I bet that Mary's sister looks back on that time and wishes she had lived her life differently and treated her sister in a much kinder and compassionate way.
Thus, my life lessons; don't wait to live and don't assume that you have forever to make things right with the ones that you love. In some ways we were lucky, we knew that Mary's end was near and had time to make things right and let her know how much she was loved and would be missed.
But for a while, we lived in blissful ignorance and assumed Mary would face another battle and win.
Posted by bbarton at January 8, 2007 10:09 AM