Cards That Are Dealt

“You play the hand you're dealt. I think the game's worthwhile.” ~C.S. Lewis

An interesting quote that many people say, 'you play the cards you were dealt with.' The meaning of which is that we end up in circumstances that we simply have to live with. Those circumstances could be under or out of our control at any given moment in time.

We may not even be able to hold the cards given us. A bad tendon in need of repair which causes you to drop the cards from time to time. Yet the surgery requires a cast that also prevents us from effectively holding those cards. But time will heel, the cast will come off, rehabilitation of the situation and we are back to playing those cards with ease.

The other side of being dealt the cards are those that you deal. We each make decisions in life, good and bad, which determine our circumstance. So making those choices will have an impact on the cards we deal to our self.

As C.S. Lewis said, "I think the game's worthwhile" and I couldn't agree more. Life is a wondrous thing and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Roads by C. S. Lewis

I stand on the windy uplands among the hills of Down
With all the world spread out beneath, meadow and sea and town,
And ploughlands on the far-off hills that glow with friendly brown.

And ever across the rolling land to the far horizon line,
Where the blue hills border the misty west, I see the white roads twine,
The rare roads and the fair roads that call this heart of mine.

I see them dip in the valleys and vanish and rise and bend
From shadowy dell to windswept fell, and still to the West they wend,
And over the cold blue ridge at last to the great world’s uttermost end.

And the call of the roads is upon me, a desire in my spirit has grown
To wander forth in the highways, ‘twixt earth and sky alone,
And seek for the lands no foot has trod and the seas no sail has known:

For the lands to the west of the evening and east of the morning’s birth,
Where the gods unseen in their valleys green are glad at the ends of the earth
And fear no morrow to bring them sorrow, nor night to quench their mirth.

(From Spirits in Bondage; Heinemann, 1919)
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Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Full name: Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
B: 27 January 1756
D: 5 December 1791

Remembering Love Lost

Gone - flitted away,
Taken the stars from the night and the sun
From the day!
Gone, and a cloud in my heart.
~Alfred Tennyson

Your life is filled with people that you have grown so accustomed to being around, that when they leave we suddenly realize just how much we are bonded to them. Our lives can become so intertwined with another, that we fail to see just how close the bond is until they are gone.

Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle
Everything I do is stitched with its color.
~W.S. Merwin

We find ourselves trying to regain the image of these people, a loved one or maybe a friend that has slipped from our sight. We try to pull our dreams at night out into the gathering light of day. To experience their presence once again hopefully.

Thou art gone from my gaze like a beautiful dream.
And I seek thee in vain by the meadow and stream.
~George Linley

With each passing day, we look for anything that will remind us of that missing piece of us. Is it the green leaves of a tree rustling in the wind, a child laughing as she skips down the road or the circus noise from high upon a Ferris wheel; where can we capture that moment again?

Oft in the tranquil hour of night,
When stars illume the sky,
I gaze upon each orb of light,
And wish that thou wert by.
~George Linley

As we gaze upon the stars or look to shapes within the clouds, we each will find that reminder of ones gone before us. It might be a star in the sky, the floating cloud formations above us or the gentle trickle of a stream.

"Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will."
~Author Unknown

It will become easier as our memory grows deeper with the spirit of a loved one. We experience that in a much different way and grow closer to them by keeping them within our hearts.
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Hope For A Cure

The year goes wrong, and tares grow strong,
Hope starves without a crumb;
But God's time is our harvest time,
And that is sure to come.
- Lewis J. Bates

So here is a good one to write. On Saturday, November 15, I ran in the Purple Stride - Atlanta 5K Run. Many of you contributed and have heard me talk about this event. The local affiliate is in its third year of existence and this is the third annual event. Its intention is not to only raise funds for research, but it is to raise awareness of the fourth leading cancer killer of the major cancers...but is the least funded. In raising funds we help with research to come up with early detection, better treatments and ultimately a cure.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is a nationwide group of people working together to advance research, support patients and create hope for those affected by pancreatic cancer. Founded in 1999, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has grown into the only national organization fighting pancreatic cancer in a comprehensive way. They accomplish their mission by directly funding research and demanding that the federal government increase research dollars for pancreatic cancer; by providing patients and caregivers with reliable information to make informed decisions with their health care teams; and by helping individuals and communities work together to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for pancreatic cancer

So for this local event being held in Atlanta, GA (USA); it was a bit cool but the colors were wonderful in the trees. Our mother would have loved the beautiful colors of fall, the briskness of an early morning but more important; the laughter and chatter of people gathering together. There were 750 runners this year and our local group raised nearly $104,000 dollars, much of that support coming from folks like you that supported my efforts.

Also, I want everyone to know that I came in first place in the 45-49 year olds that were born in Fremont, Nebraska. It turns out that I was the only one in that category! But I did run the 5K in 39 minutes, 20 seconds and feel pretty good about it as this was quite a hilly course. I don't fancy myself a great runner but at this age, I feel great that I can. I also enjoy the idea of just feeling alive when I run in these events.

I submitted a "Tell Your Story" and picture for the local affiliate to use. These stories and pictures will be heading up to Washington DC given out to all of the congressman/women and Senators. The bigger story with all of these individual ones is that there are real people associated with this cancer and personal stories of hope, loss and survival. There is also possible testimony to be given in a committee meeting and I hope to possibly be there and speak myself.

The event also featured a "Remembrance Wall" that was very touching. In the upper middle part of the board I placed our Mother's picture with our Dad. I used a picture of them both as two become one in so many years of marriage. The love of each other's lives is the way I choose to remember.

The other stories on the wall are ones just as heart touching as our own. Lives shortened but not forgotten, so many that didn't last as long as our Mother, so we have to feel blessed by the amount of time she was able to stay with us.

There was information from a research doctor at the University of Alabama who talked about new treatments that are promising. But the thing I didn't hear about is early detection except for a young woman whom is a four year survivor. Her early detection was a nagging stomach pain deep inside that she wouldn't let her doctor simply pass off. They did the CAT scan and found the small tumor in a very early stage in the pancreas. Surgery, lots of weight loss as one expects, months in the hospital and lots of support from family and friends.

All touching, all encouraging news, but everyone I talked to say that even though we have come a long way, we have a whole lot further to go. So thank you everyone for supporting me in running for all of you, your loved ones and the survivors.

More importantly, thank you for expressing your love for Mom.
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