Good Words From A Friend

Got this in an e-mail from a high school friend. She had cancer 8 years ago (I never had a clue as I haven't been the best at staying in touch with high school friends). But...she is the kind of person that you can see once in a blue moon and you pick up where you left off without any awkwardness or fear of judgment. The last time I saw her was August 2007 and I could tell there was a spark in her personality. Now I understand. She's "Going Good!"

"However, if I could go back and make it never happen to me, I'm not sure I would. It has changed my life in some very positive ways. So I worked, and worked, and worked to climb that corporate ladder, but when the "Big C" diagnosis came, it didn't matter a hill of beans that I was a VP in my company. All I could think about was the time that I had wasted getting there. So now, I make sure to stop and smell the roses. I may have missed the time with my own kids when I should have been there, but I don't miss any chances that I have with my grand kids. I'm not too busy anymore to play in the yard with them, or watch a movie with them, or bake cookies with them. Life has a whole new perspective these days. And it is much more rewarding. The satisfaction I thought I would get by accomplishing things in my career was fleeting. The true joy in life comes from spending time with the people you love, taking time to watch a sunset, sitting on the beach watching the waves crash in, walking in the woods, or watching your favorite black and white movie from 50 years ago. That's not to say that it doesn't creep in once in a while, because you are right, cancer makes a bit of a hypochondriac out of you and that's only natural because who of us thought we had cancer in the first place, so now every time something strange happens with your body you wonder if it is related to the cancer. Things that in the past you would have just ignored and chalked up to aging you now run to the doctor for. But let's face it, when we've fought this hard to stay alive, we want to continue to be alive. I've still got alot of living to do. There are lots of things I want to do that I have not gotten to do yet."