Thankful Thursday

By now, most of you know who my good friend Jonathan White is...he is an inspiration to us all. You can check out his blog here: Jonn does thankful thursday every week and a group of his friends have recently started the same tradition in his honor.

So, what am I thankful for this week? My wife Meg. Meg is truly one of a kind and I am a very lucky man. Meg is an amazing woman and I am thankful that she puts up with me; not in the sense you are thinking, not like I am a horrible person who is out all night, starting fights, and stealing the neighborhood kid's lunch money while neglecting my own daughter and driving recklessly with a loaded pistol. Not that at all, I am just an extremely restless person. This has been a problem since I was a kid, but certainly my cancer experience exacerbated it. I believe as a child I was called hyperactive and had it been 10 years later, no doubt I would have Hyperactivity disorder or something like that. Truth be told, I want to get the most out of each day because I feel very lucky to be alive.

Meg has worked in the cancer non-profit world for almost ten years now. Although she has not experienced cancer firsthand(thankfully), she has been around it for years. Even more so now, with her mom battling Ovarian cancer. As a result of all of this exposure, she realizes that I don't think like most people. I don't think this is something that is specific to just me, but most cancer survivors or others that have dealt with a life threatening circumstance. We realize that tomorrow may never come, so we try to really get the most out of today. It is a unique outlook on life that I wish everyone could experience without having to go through the whole cancer aspect of it. Meg gets me. She understands that I need to volunteer for Imerman Angels, Lance Armstrong Foundation, Leukemia and Lymphoma, Vital Options, CancerClimber, etc. She knows that I need to go and lobby on capitol hill each year. She knows that it helps me deal with my own survivorship issues, but she also knows that I really love giving back to the cancer community. She knows that I lost my aunt and my good buddy from high school to this damn disease and that I will do everything in my power to find a cure.

She also knows that sometimes I have to get out and ride my bike, motorcycle or go for a run or kayaking. It is really where I do my best thinking and connect with myself. I almost always have to be on the move and doing something and she understands and supports that.

Meg is not only amazing for putting up with me and my restless spirit, but she is the most amazing mother to our little girl Riley. I find such joy in watching Riley's face light up when Meg walks into the room. The connection between mother and daughter is absolutely amazing and something I will cherish forever. I am thankful and lucky to have such an amazing wife and mother to our child. She too, is dedicated to finding a cure for this horrible disease and even though she has not had cancer, she gets it. She knows that life is precious and for that I am grateful.