First Steps

Everything we do requires taking that first step. Sometimes we get right to it. Other times it takes a while. Sometimes we are simply thrust into it. This is picture of me at a time when I wasn't too many steps beyond my first. I am the one walking to my twin brother and my Dad, who ironically was the exact same age of 38 that I am right now when this picture was taken. The look on my brother's face, I think, captures the essence of joy one finds in completing a journey, or at least a significant part of it, especially when there is a safe haven or a rock to lean on.

The first steps down a cancer-related path for my immediate family were taken by my dad. In the early 1980s, he was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma which has now been classified as a form of leukemia. Because of this, at an early age, I got to join him with my family on that path. It was one of apprehansion, wondering at what point we were to become a broken family. One of ephiphany about the fragility of life. One of cleaving together and acknowledgment that while we religiously believe that families are forever, in this life there are few, if any, assurances that it will last. On the positive side, we ate more healthfully, we savored life experiences a little more, and relied more strongly on hope and faith and each other.

My dad is now in his seventies, and unless he hasn't told us everything, his doctors report that he will likely die of old age before he dies of the leukemia. I am grateful for that and know that many people are not so lucky. Having lost a brother to leukemia and watched a sister go twice through chemo for breast cancer and a stage-four recurrence, and having watched another sister lose a significant part of her singing voice from thyroid cancer as well as my mother for the same, the anxiety hasn't seemed to go away. Maybe I am much more seasoned these days at dealing with it. I guess I am learning slowly that I can take the momentum of that fear and redirect it toward more positive ventures like the Team in Training. Please join me in this by considering a dontation to my race and the team as we prepare to go to Dublin. Even if you are not in a position to donate, I hope that you would refer others that you know to my websites. Just forward them this link:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/vtnt/dublin08/cmorganfqm

It just takes that first step. Thank you for reading.