The News

So here's the deal: last week my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has a malignant tumor that's six centimeters across and, according to the doctor, is fast-growing and aggressive. With her current pathology report and exams, her doctor figures the cancer is stage 3. She begins chemotherapy this Thursday and will continue every other week for eighteen weeks.

When she told me about her diagnosis (she called me from the circus at the Madison County fairgrounds where she had some of my nieces and nephews), she said, "Well, it wasn't the news I wanted to hear but life doesn't stop for things like this. So we'll just move forward and take it as it comes."

So there it is.

My mom is trying to be realistic and faithful about the whole thing and so the least I can do is try to do the same.

I don't have a lot of patience for mundane things right now and, frankly, a lot of stuff seems mundane. It's hard for me to care about the lame stuff going on at my job when things that actually matter are happening. Nevertheless, as Mom pointed out, life doesn't stop. I still have to go to work and do a good job. I still have to function as a husband and parent. I still have things I need to do. The lawn needs to be mowed even though there's cancer in the world.

Somewhat in that spirit, I'll continue to blog. And I'll continue to post about useless, random things just like I always have. It keeps me sane. I'll keep you updated on my mom too. So one day I'll post the latest news on how she says she's reacting to chemo and the next day will be a close examination of a Buck Rogers comic panel from 1939. Just so you know what to expect.