"Okay, so what's up with the little ball of sunshine?" you ask. I thought it might be a quick and wacky way of indicating what kind of day it's been for me emotionally. A sunny day = a good day; an overcast day = a crappy day. You get the idea...
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Up early on a Saturday?? Moi??? Yes. A decent night's sleep had me rolling out of bed around 6:30 AM. Determined not to even think about cancer today (okay, not think about it much!), I decided that I would do what I do best: Hop in my car and drive.
A friend at work rock climbs in the Red River Gorge of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky, and he suggested that I check it out. It's about a three hour drive from here, so I found myself driving down the highway about 8 AM on an unusually warm (72 degrees) and sunny mid-November day.
The act of driving the twisting roads of the scenic byway and the search for photogenic sights kept my mind off of other matters. It was a pleasant way to spend the day.
On the way back through Cincinnati, I stopped at Jungle Jim's market and picked up a bottle of wine and a hunk of Papillon Roquefort--not to drown my sorrows but to celebrate the day.
Cliches are cliches because there's an element of truth to them. In an odd way, being diagnosed with cancer has made me feel more energized. Perhaps I'm beginning to follow Tim McGraw's advice, "Live Like You Were Dying," or even my own mom's admonition that, "Life is not a dress rehearsal." (Don't take that as my believing the Grim Reaper is right around the corner--prostate cancer is highly treatable and curable, and that's what I'm focusing on.)
I'm sure that I'll have my down days--next week will be filled with a few of them as I wait for the bone scan results. So look for a few clouds on the horizon as I take the next step in my journey...
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