I Almost Forgot

Today I am grateful for the flowers in bloom in our backyard and for the recovery friends I got to spend time with on Saturday. I am also grateful for my husband Darcy and his efforts as a deacon in our church, including the good sermon on faith that he gave yesterday.

A special thank you on this Memorial Day to all who fought for our freedom and those who continue to work to protect and preserve it.

It was eight years ago yesterday, on a Thurs. afternoon, that my doctor delivered the words "you have cancer."  It was a phone call I took in the parking lot of a rundown strip mall after she agreed it would be a good idea for me to pull over.

I almost forgot this anniversary date this year. Not really almost forgot, because I doubt I will, but thought of it less. That parking lot is now a new grocery store. And me? I get to be here too, living a full and rich life.

I have so much gratitude to be healthy and able-bodied, to have no evidence of disease (NED). I don't want to forget that, nor should I. 

I don't want to take my health or my freedom for granted. For me, that means at times I need to consider the worst case scenarios-cancer returning,  terrorists attacking nearby, losing a loved one. 

Going there, even briefly, brings me more fully back here to the present, to mindful gratitude.