Surviving and Thriving

It has been two months since I last posted and a lot has happened.  We sold our place in San Francisco and bought a house in Northern Virginia which we plan to move into by the end of the month.  We are overjoyed, nervous, and grateful.  As recently as late January, I had serious doubts about reaching this point but here we are.  I have more people to thank for this than a gushing Oscar winner but I'd like to try.

Returning to work would never have been possible without the extraordinary support of my State Department colleagues.  Many folks selflessly gave up their own leave for my recovery and I have been continually buoyed by messages, calls, and visits some of which were critical to keeping me on this path.  Standing and clapping since 2007 - thanks guys.

My family and friends have been with me on this roller coaster journey.  I've been sustained by friendships old and new, brief and enduring, and by the continued love from family that has nourished, comforted, and sometimes carried me along me.

I am truly grateful for the time I have enjoyed with Walter.  After diagnosis, I wondered if I would live long enough for him to even remember me.  He starts Kindergarten in September and I could not be more proud of him.  He is a perceptive, kind and wise person.  And a dependable booster - he recently told Steph not to worry about me "because Daddy is is the toughest."  I don't know about that but he has set a fine example for me by how he has coped with challenging situations.  I remember him sitting quietly and patiently for hours in the frightening confusion of a Canberra emergency room.  When I was finally transferred into a private room, I remember Walt strolling in, sizing up the space, and saying approvingly,"Nice room Daddy - no alarms, no crying babies, and room to run!"

I honestly don't know how anyone could deal with this alone but I feel fortunate everyday that I have such an extraordinary partner in my wife Steph.  We have made this journey together but it would not have been imaginable without the foundation of her love, patience, and determination. 

When we will drive over the Bridge on Friday, it will mark a tremendous milestone for us.  I wrote in earlier post about my discomfort around the world survivor.  I don't think of myself as a survivor because that implies an experience overcome and now past and that is not what I am living.  But I am surviving and even thriving.  I am not cured and I have no idea how long this will last but I am here now and appreciative of all the gifts around me.