Hi strangers,
I feel that I should give you all fair warning that this post is very emotional and personal. Read it at your own risk. This past February, one of our nearest and dearest friends had emergency surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. And then discovered he would probably have to have another surgery, along with additional cancer treatment. He is only 23 years old, single, and living on his own. When it comes to family around here, we're the closest thing he's got. It was such an emotionally draining roller coaster ride.
He got really, really lucky. He's fine now. He didn't need any further
treatment, didn't need to move back home, and only has to have check ups
occasionally. Not such a bad deal in the grand scheme of things.
To make matters worse, this was the friend that I had a coversation with that went something like this: "How do you know how to do all this stuff?!", "Pinterest. Duh.", "I gotta get me one of those!" But Pinterest doesn't have any answers when it comes to what to do when such a personal tragedy strikes. Sure, you can find inspirational quotes for days. But there is not "DIY", or "How To" post when it comes to dealing with something like this. There are lots of "Chemo Survival Kits", "Cancer Sucks Party Ideas", and other articles to help those going through cancer. Our friend ended up not needing any additional treatment. That's not what this was about. This was our group of friends ranging in age from 19 to 25 that suddenly all had the realization that we aren't going to live forever. Cancer can happen to anyone, including one of our own, even this young.
All of the sudden, we all realized that things like blogs, social media, video games, wasting time doing nothing, etc. are just that, a waste of time. We all learned that we needed to live in the moment. Because even in your twenties, you never know when it's going to be gone. So I'm sorry that this blog has been very neglected. John Bytheway once gave a talk titled "Turn Off the TV and Get a Life," and lately that's what I've been doing. But it hasn't been TV for me. For me, it's about unplugging for a little while and spending time with the ones I love. Hopefully this summer I'll be back at it a little more, but if not, just know that it's because I'm doing something more important.
~Taylor
