This weekend I was driving across the Golden Gate Bridge  early in the morning and listening to John Legend’s “This Time”.  It was a crisp morning and we were on our way to our son’s basketball game.  It was a family moment with our two children in the back seat, but as my wife turned up the volume and sang along, it became her moment and we all listened.  It is hard to explain the feeling when you listen to someone is appreciating what they have and is inspired by their own journey.  My wife never has been one to turn up the volume, but the song and the beauty of the morning sun gleaming off one of our country’s iconic monuments probably hit her.  I quickly captured the moment with my camera phone.

During the game I pulled out  a copy of  “This Time’s A Charm”, a book that I’m reading by Don Wilhelm, 4 time cancer survivor.  I’ll be part of his Book Blog tour which I will be part of during the beginning of March.  Don shows the power of positive thinking.  He does not claim it will heal all people, but I personally believe it affects those around you to see such a strong attitude when things are at their lowest.  I will write more about the book in the future, but I sat next to one of the other dads on the team.  He has lymphoma and has been suffering for three years and I know it has taken a toll on his family and his life.  I’ve asked myself if I should offer the book to him to read, but it is not my place. 

Back to my wife we took the weekend in stride and went after life.  We fixed things in the house like the broken lighting in our bathroom.  We also arranged our next vacation, played with our kids and let them help decide where we should go next.  We want to expand their life experiences while they are  young and innocent.  Our lives are touched and we are grateful for all that we have.  Despite my wife’s positive prognosis and people telling her how inspired they are by how she has responded, she has (and so do I) felt that her battle is nothing compared to what others have been through or are going through.    This weekend my wife heard from an online friend who has the same physicians and it always reminds her that she is one of many and that her struggle is still ongoing.  At the same time we heard from my wife’s brother than he and his wife are having their second child, a girl, this summer.  Along with my inlaw’s 50th wedding anniversary, this is shaping up to be a pretty eventful summer!

Tonight we watched the 60 Minutes special of local hero Chesley Sullenberger, the captain of US Airways flt 1549 that landed safely in the Hudson River with all 155  passengers and crew surviving.  He said in the interview that he didn’t think what he did should be warranting so much praise, but he understands the gratitude and is still learning how his actions can be so lauded even though what happened to him is something he had always wanted to avoid (losing a plane).  It is so amazing that what this guy did was such a success and textbook yet he felt so bad and questioned his actions as to whether he could have done better.  To me that is the parallel.  This man is just trying to make his path, his road down life and yet everyone is looking to him as an inspiration.  It isn’t just the 155 lives he saved that day, but all the people who were inspired by him and all the lives he affected through the relatives of those 155 people who are still alive today.

For me this week the road will continue and I will look forward to hearing and observing new stories that help me navigate this world and help me educate my children as to the importance of living life to the fullest.