As of today, we’re about 53 days away from closing up the U-haul and starting our epic journey across the country. It’s going to be fall. We’re excited for the open road, seeing friends and family, lots of time to talk and hopefully we’ll get some fall leaves.
Even though the days and moments that I doubt my rationale for doing what we’re doing are fewer and fewer, it seems I don’t have to go too long these days to be reminded of exactly why we’re doing this in the first place.
On Saturday, Sherine reached out to an old co-worker from years ago to tell him of our plans. He then told us of how he had retired some 10 years ago, before he actually had planned, due to unexpected changes in his life. Long story short, he had 9 blissful years with his wife before she was diagnosed with and had died of a rare cancer within a year. There was not a bone in his body that questioned what we were doing. This story is getting all too familiar.
Then, we learned of an old friend from college loosing her battle with cancer. She’s in Hospice now and it seems, from what we’re hearing, she’s not likely to live many more days…if not hours. Even though we’ve lost touch over the years, its still hitting us, but mostly Sherine, really hard. “It’s not fair” Sherine says. She’s so young and was so strong in her days when she wasn’t sick. It’s depressing to think of all of the friends we’ve lost to cancer over the last decade.
Anyway, it seems that I don’t have to go too long these days to be reminded of why I’m doing this. With every checkup at the various doctors that Sherine and I have been going to in anticipation of us changing residency, we hold our breath just a little bit longer and breath a sigh of relief when we get good news…but, I know that’s not guaranteed to last and so, this is why we’re doing what we’re doing.