Wow...it has been 8 months since I last wrote...why do I do it,  do you ask...I think mostly I write things down now for my children and grandchildren...maybe it is in the hope that they never forget me and maybe to show them that despite the tough battle, everyday life still happens. So, a lot of living takes place after a diagnosis of stage III cancer, but that everyday life has a huge black shadow that is quietly waiting and patiently tailing every move I make. Trying never to let it over shadow me, nevertheless it remains my constant companion.

With the news that President Carter is now one of our elite group of warriors, it brings to mind the all too recent, seemingly insurmountable battles that I have waged to get back to the rolls of the living. Those rolls are easily taken for granted by most but never by a warrior. Everything we warriors do from the mundane to the glorious is a sweet victory.  Nothing and I mean absolutely nothing is taken for granted. There is gratitude for everything I experience from the beauty of nature to the miraculous medical procedures that have extended my life.

Still, 2 years after starting this amazing, painful, slow, sometimes frustrating health journey, there is no finish line in sight. It is this thought that saddens me when I hear of a new member of our Warrior team. There is never an "ok, surgery is complete and now I can get on with my life". The intrusive tests, constant biopsies, long weeks of healing and never ending oncology appointments must be woven into a very busy life and career.  I try to accomplish this with as much grace as I can muster but I have to admit to feeling that I am just not able to do all that is required. But I NEVER quit.

And maybe that is the legacy I want to leave for my dear children and grandchildren. Their mother will never quit trying to stay with them for as long as she can. My promise to them is to keep up the good fight,  as my father would have so eloquently said. I am not ready to be their guardian angel just yet.

I WILL NEVER QUIT !!!!