Trust

Mussar (a central European Orhodox Jewish tradition with many similarities to Buddhism!) teaches that worry is the absence of trust. Each month when I await the results of may lab tests I worry...a little bit. So I tell myself "trust that Nancy's immune system is keeping the Myeloma in check". "Trust that everything will turn out for the best". (Yes, my tests were once again good.)

Three days before my planned trip to Boston for my Mom's 89th birthday (Feb 25th) my Dad fell and broke his hip (proximal femur to be more precise). He's doing very well - sailed through the surgery and is making good progress at an excellent rehab facility 7 miles form their home. My parents are doing very well for their age - living independently, still unbelieveably sharp. They maintain a high quality of life. In fact, Dad's accident meant they had to cancel their annual March stay in the Caribean! But either one of them will admit that life at their age is very difficult at times. They are grateful for every minute, but as my Mom says "getting old isn't for sissies!".

My point is none of us know what life has in store for us. What our quality of life will be like if we survive into our 70's and 80's. If I'm lucky enough to be a long term Myeloma survivor, could I find myself in some miserable state of existence 20-30 years hence ironically regretting that the Myeloma hadn't taken me out earlier? I will always strive to live my life so as to have no regrets, but we can't control everything.

My two weeks working in Twin Falls, Idaho went well. My new folding bike was a joy to commute on. The Ameritel Hotel they put me up in serves a full breakfast buffet each morning, and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies every afternoon! I managed a side trip to West Yellowstone, Montana to visit Natty - a scenic 4+ hr drive from Twin Falls. We had perfect weather and fresh snow for our cross country skiing in Yellowstone. Spectacular!

I head back for another two week stint in Twin Falls this Sunday. I'd like to fly the Comanche, but it's looking like our winter weather will require that I fly commercial. Speaking of winter weather, we had two days of epic powder skiing here last week, I'm certainly grateful I was home to take advantage of that!

Phil