MOTY's Unite

I was sitting in my grey cubicle in Tempe, AZ working as an actuarial analyst for Progressive Insurance (2002) when I got the call.  My four year old nephew had been in the hospital all week. They were running a gazillion tests on him to try to figure out why he had been ill for weeks with flu like symptoms of low fever, loss of an appetite, and fatigue.  I don’t remember who it was that called me or what they even said. All I remember hearing was….non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Stage 3. 90% chance of survival. He was F O U R years old. My body froze.  Breath vanished from my lungs with a pain I had never felt before.  My stomach was queasy and my hands sweating and trembling with fear.  It was the very last thing I expected to hear. The big ‘C’ wasn’t even on my radar given his young age.  They thought he had a virus. They thought he was just on a growth spurt. They thought it was cat scratch fever.  But it wasn’t any of those easily trea...

Over fall break the boys and I drove up to Mount Rushmore.  On the way home we drove through Custer State Park.  This is one of my favorite photos taken of Sylvan Lake.  The way the water calmed long enough to have a seamless reflection of the rocks...breathtaking. This image symbolizes BALANCE to me.  As the rocks look like they're calm and perfectly placed on top of their reflection.  But all it takes is one gust of wind or even a light breeze and the beautiful reflection is lost. Isn't life that way?  I feel like I have things figured out and things are going fairly well and then...BAM...something gets thrown into the mix that was completely unexpected. Our blended family has felt this way, as well.  Some days things look beautiful and balanced.  Others...we're a hot mess. My stepson didn't come for the holidays this year.  He came to visit this past summer while my boys and I were in Ohio visiting (and I was working).  It ...