"C" Is For Courage

"Courage is being scared to death...and saddling up anyway."

I                                                                                                          John Wayne

I was going to edit out the meat in this picture, but you know how much I like to bring a smile to your face, so here it is, a 42 ounce piece of Prime Rib, (I know it looks like a beef roast, but it isn't) that Sam enjoyed on our 28th Wedding Anniversary at Skip's Place in New Buffalo.  We hadn't been there in almost 30 years and we had a blast.  Oh and by the way he ate all of it.

Over the last couple of years I have been witness to countless acts of courage.  Not people running into burning buildings to save another, or the like, but what some people might call small acts.  I have watched my dear Husband, endure the most radical surgery, horrendous radiation sessions and endless chemo therapy where it was almost too much for him to bear..  After his last treatment he drove home and the next morning we left for Lake Michigan for what could be our last Family vacation together.  He would not hear of cancelling it, even though he never did go outside the whole time, but he was with us.

He pushes himself beyond his physical limits to complete a task on a daily basis.  I watch in awe as he eeks out every moment of his day to prove to himself and others that he is viable to all of us.  Every time he is asked how he is doing he answers with a big smile.  "Great!", or "Not bad for a dumb ole farm boy from Gobles".  Truth be told when his IQ was tested some years back it was in the 130's.  To say he is my hero is a huge understatement.  He is my life, the reason I get up in the morning.....

Now that the cancer is back, we are facing it together.  I try to go to treatment with him every week and I watch and listen as he keeps everyone at the Cancer Center in stitches (sometimes at my expense).  But right now he is here with me, with us, and  we are enjoying every minute we have together.

There has always been a lot of talk about the purpose driven life.  We wonder to ourselves why we are here on this earth, at this particular time and place.  It has never been more clear to me that I have been put here to help Sam through this,  to love him, comfort him and be with him, on this, life's most difficult journey.