Now

I had a friend who had small children and was living with stage 4 colon cancer. She adopted the life motto: "we don't wait."

She knew that she may not have all the time that she wanted. Not enough time to teach her children what they might need to learn. Not enough time to make memories. Not enough time to cross anything off her bucket list. Not enough time.

And so she decided she would wake up each day and say, "we don't wait." When she thought of something that she might miss in her children's life, she wrote them a letter to open on that "big day." (Whether or not she made it to that day in person they could still have some of her words.) When she dreamed of an experience she thought would bring comfort she tried to make that experience happen. She found ways to make things possible. She wasn't shy about using a wheelchair if it would save her enough energy to get to a concert she was hoping to attend. She wasn't reserved about asking folks to participate in her shenanigans.

She spent virtually no time worrying about what other people might think or how others might judge what she was doing. She had no time for that nonsense. She had plenty of time for joy. When we struggle, as cancerworld residents, with the things we might miss maybe we can remember this "we don't wait" woman. And follow in her footsteps.

This might also be helpful to non-cancer world residents.