Tonight, we held my beautiful daughter's second birthday party. She was born yesteraday, two years ago, but we held the party tonight because last night we had family night. So I'm feeling unusually emotional, and I'm not terribly great at that if you didn't guess already.
Just seeing the picture montage(sp?) of darling little Hope made me appreciate what a wonderful life I have been blessed with, even just in the last two years. Cancer aside, the last two years have been a roller coaster of highs and lows that I wouldn't trade in for all the gold in the world. I have been blessed with the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows, and have been taught the humility to appreciate the wonder of the world we live in, it's truly incredible.
Then, after everyone went to bed, I was listening to my iTunes on random, and several songs from earlier in my life came on, and I began to wander down the road of my own history. I have been a VERY lucky person. I have seen some incredible things; places, people, events in time, and history making passages.
One of the greatest lessons of cancer that I learned came from my spirit guide while I was meditating once. I probably wrote about the time he took me to the bottom of the waterfall that was at the bottom of the canyon. I think of that journey now because it holds so much significance for me. I have seen so much, but to truly appreciate the summit's I have achieved, I have had to overcome so many chasms, and having survived long enough to endure the valley floor, I appreciate the mountaintops all the more.
Ok, so I'm a lousy linguist, and a wretched writer, but my point is, I appreciate the top of the mountain more, because I climbed here from the bottom. And Hope's second birthday is an incredible summit for me.
Yesterday, Honore and I took her to the Shedd Aquarium for her birthday. Too see the wonder in her eyes, the pure, unadulterated excitement for the raw adventure of life was inspiring to me. For a brief moment, I glimpsed the energy that drives all of us. That childhood curiosity which pushes us to see what lies just beyond the next corner, around the bend, beyond the horizon.
I felt complete because for all the years of being the child of my parents, and then exploring the world on my own, finally I began to see what the world I would pass on to my child might look like. I could see in the wonderment of her eyes the desire to explore, and that made me feel wonderful.
I am sure this lesson is something all parent go through, but I am grateful to be one long enough to experience it.
Had my PET scan two weeks ago, and the cancer is still in remission. So I get another 6 month reprieve, Halleleujah!
Love,
Travis
Sunday, January 31, 2010
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