Gratefulness

Life is full of twists and turns these days. Our family is still reeling from the loss of my nephew Christian, who died in March of 2010. Going through summer holidays without him around for certain events was painful for us all.

This summer brought to our attention that my dad is suddenly dealing with colon cancer and my mom's leukemia is also very present. Dad had to have two unexpected surgeries in this past week and mom is at the doctor's today about her leukemia. Then my sister-in-law Ilona found out this past spring she has serious breast cancer and has been undergoing treatments all summer and is also facing surgery.

How to respond to ALL of this at once is simply overwhelming on many days....but this photo hopefully reflects my response. Here I am with my nephew Graham, son of Ilona. He is 10 and was over to hang out with me one day this summer. We had fun and enjoyed being together.

To be present to the people around me, to be grateful for the beauty that is here even in the midst of suffering, to offer the gift of kindness and simple expressions of love.....this is what is important. And then - to be GRATEFUL in this moment for what is right now.