Grateful to be “we”

One year ago, things were rough. I was in grief over the death of my father, I had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and my wife was due for shoulder surgery.

No matter what age you are or what stage of life you’re in, these are the moments where you ask yourself, “Can I get through this? How can I get through this?”

Except, in reality, that’s not the question I asked. The real question was, “How can we get through this?”

The “we” makes all the difference. Because within that tiny word is the rock-solid, feel-it-in-your-bones assurance that whatever it is, you won’t be going through it alone.

I am intensely grateful that my family, and especially my wife, was there for all of our challenges. There are no finer people. I’m also grateful that I was able to be there to help my wife in her time of need; actually being able to help someone, even when you’re not 100% yourself, is a blessing in itself.

I am humbly grateful for my siblings and my mother — we get joy from each other and have helped each other out so well. This is what living a full life feels like.

I am profoundly grateful to my medical team. I did my work, which was to ask questions, follow instructions carefully, and remain realistic but positive. I remember when I explained to my urologist that I had a solid background in statistics and fully understood how probabilities work; that made our discussions both efficient and effective. When you and your doctors are aligned and effective, you get the best possible results. In this case, that was a full recovery.

I am extremely grateful to my clients. My job is primarily to criticize people’s work. I try to be both sensitive and intelligent about it, but it demands a lot more than just money from the clients. Without exception, my clients have been appreciative of my comments and ready to apply themselves to making the work better — and in many cases, amazing. To make a good living doing this is pretty terrific. The fact that I could ramp it up and down to address my health issues was even better. You’re the best.

And I am grateful to you, my readers, too. A writer without an audience is sad. You make my life worthwhile every day. That’s no small thing.

For now, things are great. Loving the people I love and doing the work I love are how I repay all you’ve done for me. I intend to keep it up for a long time.