Do you really think it can be beat?

24

Comments

  • Aud
    Aud Member Posts: 479 Member
    PhillieG said:

    Nobody gets out of here alive
    That's the bottom line. Obviously the whole part of being born is that we will one day die.
    It's in the fine print on our Birth Certificates. Really, it is!

    I happen to think NED is over-rated and/or that it gives people a false sense of beating death or something. I do remember finishing the first 12 round cycle of chemo (200 some odd treatments ago) and the nurses having this "party" for me and I got a balloon and lollipop or something like that. I thought "this is cool" but I didn't think it was over as far as cancer goes. I've been living with cancer for 6 1/2 years. I think the word living is the important part. I'm not about to wait until some doctor or test tells me I'm NED. I feel very good and that's what is important to me. I'm pretty sure that I could be NED and feel like crap. I'd rather feel good and not be NED at this point. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to hear that I'm NED but my main goal is to enjoy my time here. If I don't hear it then I don't hear it.

    Just reading the posts on this site, how many times have you read that someone is NED and all excited about it, then a month later they are saying that their cancer is back and they are devastated. I have absolutely no desire to put myself through that. I feel I do not project gloom and doom for myself either. I just try to do my best to be in the moment as much as I can.

    There is a quote that I like that goes like this:
    "The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
    ~ Mitch Albom
    This can also be looked at as coming to terms with one's mortality.

    You say Christine that "But then I think I am missing the whole point of being NED and that means being happy in the moment and tomorrow will take care of itself." I believe that the whole point of LIFE is to be happy in the moment. We have little or no control over anything else. If we die from cancer, we die from cancer. Most of us probably stand a greater chance statistically speaking of being killed while driving to the doctors office than of dying from cancer.

    So to answer your question Christine, YES I think cancer can be beat but do I think that hearing/seeing the words NED is what I am striving for, the answer to that is NO. At some point we all will no longer exist on Earth. I guess that makes us NED & DEAD
    ;-)

    Phil
    Very well said. I visited with a counselor several times during treatment, back in Nov/Dec '09. One of the things we talked about--what I was struggling with--is that I wanted to be okay with death (whatever that means). Even though my diagnosis was stage I rectal cancer and my doctors were thinking to cure it, cancer has a way of taking your Mortality out of the closet and setting it squarely on the table next to your cup of coffee, like it or not. So now I'm in the "waiting room," -- hmmm, recurrence? maybe, maybe not, maybe, maybe not...But Death? Definitely...now? tomorrow? next year? month? 30 years? who knows. And yes, you are correct, Phil. I looked at my birth certificate--and you might need it a magnifying glass to see it but it's certainly there, in fine print, just like you said. This awareness of our Mortality can lead us to a new appreciation of Life, to live in this moment of time right now.
    Here's to Now.
    ~Audrey
  • chicoturner
    chicoturner Member Posts: 282
    Hi Christine, I don't know
    Hi Christine, I don't know about everyone, but I know that I had a wonderful day and today I did beat it! Somedays are just hard no matter what you've got going and then there are those wonderful days.! Having something to look forward to really helps! I have a 2 1/2 yr. old grandbaby and a new one on the way. I have lots to fight for! Find your reason!! BEst to you...Jean
  • 462lt
    462lt Member Posts: 117

    I get it, and who knows?
    I can sure relate to your question, as for an answer well I think you have to "get there" yourself. We all have different ways of dealing with the various situations we find ourselves in. Taking control of our diet, exercising, education, etc.. are all ways we try to come to grips with where we are. A positive attitude is important but I know I wasnt whistling zip-a-de-do-da 24/7 before all of this so should I expect to do so now?
    I hear so many stories of people who through a crisis such as cancer transform their lives. They become more, more religous, more active, more open, more caring, more tolerant. They create for themselves a life that from outside appearance anyway, is so much fuller, richer then the lives they had before the crisis. I keep looking for some grand awakening in myself. So far I havent found it. Mind you I am not waiting for this to happen, I am actively trying to find this source for myself.
    I think (and this is just my two cents) maybe I am trying to find something that isnt there. Why should the fact that I have cancer suddenly answer questions that quite frankly I had before all of this. The fact that we may die sooner then we thought will definetly change things, but I doubt that the majority of us will suddenly find some well spring of inspiration that drives us to do great things or live some magical life. I am, within reason, the same person I was before Cancer. I always took joy in the little things, I wasnt a slave to my job, I loved my family dearly, and rejoiced in the life I was given. I took pride in the fact that my daughters would call us if they saw a beautiful sunset and didnt want us to miss it. I also struggled with who I was, where I wanted to be, etc...
    I dont mean this as a negative, and I speak only for myself and my feelings, but I was an "average" guy before cancer, full of questions, doubts, and fears, why should I expect a life threatening illness to transform me into something I am not. I try to keep that in mind when I am stuggling with the "what the h@##'s".
    I realize this may not be what you are looking for, but I think it has helped me deal with my current situation, so I thought I should post.
    chris

    ME too
    Thanks could not said it better myself. Laura
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    dorookie said:

    Chris, ME too
    I have struggled with this too, like where is the rebirth that is suppose to happen after something like this? Why is it others are having these life changing events and I am not? I couldnt and probably wont ever figure it out, I like you am just ordinary, I am a bit of a slave to my job, love my family so much, and I find peace and happiness in small things. Just a simple person, trying to live, love and laugh...


    Beth

    And what a beautiful family you have!!!
    And yes, you have the secret to living...

    Hugs, Kathi
  • lesvanb
    lesvanb Member Posts: 905
    PhillieG said:

    Nobody gets out of here alive
    That's the bottom line. Obviously the whole part of being born is that we will one day die.
    It's in the fine print on our Birth Certificates. Really, it is!

    I happen to think NED is over-rated and/or that it gives people a false sense of beating death or something. I do remember finishing the first 12 round cycle of chemo (200 some odd treatments ago) and the nurses having this "party" for me and I got a balloon and lollipop or something like that. I thought "this is cool" but I didn't think it was over as far as cancer goes. I've been living with cancer for 6 1/2 years. I think the word living is the important part. I'm not about to wait until some doctor or test tells me I'm NED. I feel very good and that's what is important to me. I'm pretty sure that I could be NED and feel like crap. I'd rather feel good and not be NED at this point. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to hear that I'm NED but my main goal is to enjoy my time here. If I don't hear it then I don't hear it.

    Just reading the posts on this site, how many times have you read that someone is NED and all excited about it, then a month later they are saying that their cancer is back and they are devastated. I have absolutely no desire to put myself through that. I feel I do not project gloom and doom for myself either. I just try to do my best to be in the moment as much as I can.

    There is a quote that I like that goes like this:
    "The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
    ~ Mitch Albom
    This can also be looked at as coming to terms with one's mortality.

    You say Christine that "But then I think I am missing the whole point of being NED and that means being happy in the moment and tomorrow will take care of itself." I believe that the whole point of LIFE is to be happy in the moment. We have little or no control over anything else. If we die from cancer, we die from cancer. Most of us probably stand a greater chance statistically speaking of being killed while driving to the doctors office than of dying from cancer.

    So to answer your question Christine, YES I think cancer can be beat but do I think that hearing/seeing the words NED is what I am striving for, the answer to that is NO. At some point we all will no longer exist on Earth. I guess that makes us NED & DEAD
    ;-)

    Birth has a poor prognosis
    well said Phil and Kathi and Aud et al

    and we're all skating on thin ice whether we are living with cancer...or not. Usually when pondering things like life and death, I enjoy reading poetry. Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets because I like how she doesn't beat around the bush.

    When Death Comes by Mary Oliver

    When death comes
    like the hungry bear in autumn;
    when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

    to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
    when death comes
    like the measle-pox

    when death comes
    like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

    I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
    what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

    And therefore I look upon everything
    as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
    and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
    and I consider eternity as another possibility,

    and I think of each life as a flower, as common
    as a field daisy, and as singular,

    and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
    tending, as all music does, toward silence,

    and each body a lion of courage, and something
    precious to the earth.

    When it's over, I want to say all my life
    I was a bride married to amazement.
    I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

    When it's over, I don't want to wonder
    if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

    I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
    or full of argument.

    I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.


    With much love and respect, Leslie
  • Kathleen808
    Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member
    PhillieG said:

    Nobody gets out of here alive
    That's the bottom line. Obviously the whole part of being born is that we will one day die.
    It's in the fine print on our Birth Certificates. Really, it is!

    I happen to think NED is over-rated and/or that it gives people a false sense of beating death or something. I do remember finishing the first 12 round cycle of chemo (200 some odd treatments ago) and the nurses having this "party" for me and I got a balloon and lollipop or something like that. I thought "this is cool" but I didn't think it was over as far as cancer goes. I've been living with cancer for 6 1/2 years. I think the word living is the important part. I'm not about to wait until some doctor or test tells me I'm NED. I feel very good and that's what is important to me. I'm pretty sure that I could be NED and feel like crap. I'd rather feel good and not be NED at this point. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to hear that I'm NED but my main goal is to enjoy my time here. If I don't hear it then I don't hear it.

    Just reading the posts on this site, how many times have you read that someone is NED and all excited about it, then a month later they are saying that their cancer is back and they are devastated. I have absolutely no desire to put myself through that. I feel I do not project gloom and doom for myself either. I just try to do my best to be in the moment as much as I can.

    There is a quote that I like that goes like this:
    "The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
    ~ Mitch Albom
    This can also be looked at as coming to terms with one's mortality.

    You say Christine that "But then I think I am missing the whole point of being NED and that means being happy in the moment and tomorrow will take care of itself." I believe that the whole point of LIFE is to be happy in the moment. We have little or no control over anything else. If we die from cancer, we die from cancer. Most of us probably stand a greater chance statistically speaking of being killed while driving to the doctors office than of dying from cancer.

    So to answer your question Christine, YES I think cancer can be beat but do I think that hearing/seeing the words NED is what I am striving for, the answer to that is NO. At some point we all will no longer exist on Earth. I guess that makes us NED & DEAD
    ;-)

    Phil
    Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience. You're a great example of living in the moment.

    Aloha,
    Kathleen
  • Kathleen808
    Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member

    I get it, and who knows?
    I can sure relate to your question, as for an answer well I think you have to "get there" yourself. We all have different ways of dealing with the various situations we find ourselves in. Taking control of our diet, exercising, education, etc.. are all ways we try to come to grips with where we are. A positive attitude is important but I know I wasnt whistling zip-a-de-do-da 24/7 before all of this so should I expect to do so now?
    I hear so many stories of people who through a crisis such as cancer transform their lives. They become more, more religous, more active, more open, more caring, more tolerant. They create for themselves a life that from outside appearance anyway, is so much fuller, richer then the lives they had before the crisis. I keep looking for some grand awakening in myself. So far I havent found it. Mind you I am not waiting for this to happen, I am actively trying to find this source for myself.
    I think (and this is just my two cents) maybe I am trying to find something that isnt there. Why should the fact that I have cancer suddenly answer questions that quite frankly I had before all of this. The fact that we may die sooner then we thought will definetly change things, but I doubt that the majority of us will suddenly find some well spring of inspiration that drives us to do great things or live some magical life. I am, within reason, the same person I was before Cancer. I always took joy in the little things, I wasnt a slave to my job, I loved my family dearly, and rejoiced in the life I was given. I took pride in the fact that my daughters would call us if they saw a beautiful sunset and didnt want us to miss it. I also struggled with who I was, where I wanted to be, etc...
    I dont mean this as a negative, and I speak only for myself and my feelings, but I was an "average" guy before cancer, full of questions, doubts, and fears, why should I expect a life threatening illness to transform me into something I am not. I try to keep that in mind when I am stuggling with the "what the h@##'s".
    I realize this may not be what you are looking for, but I think it has helped me deal with my current situation, so I thought I should post.
    chris

    Chris
    Chris,
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. It sounds like you have a beautiful family and you have had the gift of appreciating the good things for quite some time. Beautiful!

    Have a great weekend.

    Aloha,
    Kathleen
  • mommyof2kds
    mommyof2kds Member Posts: 519

    Hi Christine, I don't know
    Hi Christine, I don't know about everyone, but I know that I had a wonderful day and today I did beat it! Somedays are just hard no matter what you've got going and then there are those wonderful days.! Having something to look forward to really helps! I have a 2 1/2 yr. old grandbaby and a new one on the way. I have lots to fight for! Find your reason!! BEst to you...Jean

    We just have to live life
    We just have to live life and be positive. Enjoy the beautiful things and embrace all we can. It is not easy some days, but must move on .. Positive energy to you that you start to feel better..
  • We just have to live life
    We just have to live life and be positive. Enjoy the beautiful things and embrace all we can. It is not easy some days, but must move on .. Positive energy to you that you start to feel better..

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • Kerry S
    Kerry S Member Posts: 606 Member
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    As former drunk
    Graci,

    As former drunk I can say you said it well. I put myself into a drunk farm 27 years ago this August. Never had a “slip”. What helped me was learning and knowing I was just wired a little different then most folks.

    What I learned from that experience has helped me make it through this crap. One day at a time. I am no less or better then others. I just have a cancer problem to deal with.

    Kerry
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
    lesvanb said:

    Birth has a poor prognosis
    well said Phil and Kathi and Aud et al

    and we're all skating on thin ice whether we are living with cancer...or not. Usually when pondering things like life and death, I enjoy reading poetry. Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets because I like how she doesn't beat around the bush.

    When Death Comes by Mary Oliver

    When death comes
    like the hungry bear in autumn;
    when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

    to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
    when death comes
    like the measle-pox

    when death comes
    like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

    I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
    what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

    And therefore I look upon everything
    as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
    and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
    and I consider eternity as another possibility,

    and I think of each life as a flower, as common
    as a field daisy, and as singular,

    and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
    tending, as all music does, toward silence,

    and each body a lion of courage, and something
    precious to the earth.

    When it's over, I want to say all my life
    I was a bride married to amazement.
    I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

    When it's over, I don't want to wonder
    if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

    I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
    or full of argument.

    I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.


    With much love and respect, Leslie

    Very beautiful poem, Leslie.
    Very beautiful poem, Leslie. Thanks for sharing it; it really gives pause to think.
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    Kerry S said:

    As former drunk
    Graci,

    As former drunk I can say you said it well. I put myself into a drunk farm 27 years ago this August. Never had a “slip”. What helped me was learning and knowing I was just wired a little different then most folks.

    What I learned from that experience has helped me make it through this crap. One day at a time. I am no less or better then others. I just have a cancer problem to deal with.

    Kerry

    Do I really think It can be beat.......
    I want you to ask me that same question in 40 years cause both of us will still be here....Deal???....Love to ya, Buzz
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    Buzzard said:

    Do I really think It can be beat.......
    I want you to ask me that same question in 40 years cause both of us will still be here....Deal???....Love to ya, Buzz

    All right, I;ll give ya til July 17, 2050 to answer that......
    (I;ll be pushing 100 then and still rockin')and not a day more or less!!!......steve
  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    I walked
    I walked the Survivor lap at a Relay for Life last weekend. They broke us into categories of how long we've been survivor's. There were quite a few in the 25+ category. I'd say if you beat it for 25 years - the answer is yes, it can be beat.

    I beat cervical cancer. Over six years NED now for that. I beat colon cancer. Just a few months NED at this point, but one day I'm walking in the 25+ group!
  • eric38
    eric38 Member Posts: 583
    PhillieG said:

    Nobody gets out of here alive
    That's the bottom line. Obviously the whole part of being born is that we will one day die.
    It's in the fine print on our Birth Certificates. Really, it is!

    I happen to think NED is over-rated and/or that it gives people a false sense of beating death or something. I do remember finishing the first 12 round cycle of chemo (200 some odd treatments ago) and the nurses having this "party" for me and I got a balloon and lollipop or something like that. I thought "this is cool" but I didn't think it was over as far as cancer goes. I've been living with cancer for 6 1/2 years. I think the word living is the important part. I'm not about to wait until some doctor or test tells me I'm NED. I feel very good and that's what is important to me. I'm pretty sure that I could be NED and feel like crap. I'd rather feel good and not be NED at this point. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to hear that I'm NED but my main goal is to enjoy my time here. If I don't hear it then I don't hear it.

    Just reading the posts on this site, how many times have you read that someone is NED and all excited about it, then a month later they are saying that their cancer is back and they are devastated. I have absolutely no desire to put myself through that. I feel I do not project gloom and doom for myself either. I just try to do my best to be in the moment as much as I can.

    There is a quote that I like that goes like this:
    "The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
    ~ Mitch Albom
    This can also be looked at as coming to terms with one's mortality.

    You say Christine that "But then I think I am missing the whole point of being NED and that means being happy in the moment and tomorrow will take care of itself." I believe that the whole point of LIFE is to be happy in the moment. We have little or no control over anything else. If we die from cancer, we die from cancer. Most of us probably stand a greater chance statistically speaking of being killed while driving to the doctors office than of dying from cancer.

    So to answer your question Christine, YES I think cancer can be beat but do I think that hearing/seeing the words NED is what I am striving for, the answer to that is NO. At some point we all will no longer exist on Earth. I guess that makes us NED & DEAD
    ;-)

    Phil
    I agree. It is hard to come to grips with your own mortality but I believe the only way to truly heal is to get yourself in a spiritual and mental state where you are not afraid to die. I realize this is a lot easier said than done
    Also, statistics do not apply to individuals and you never know what can happen. A perfectly healthy person could walk out he door today and get hit by a bus. There are people who are diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and don't live more than six weeks after their diagnosis and others who beat it or live way beyond anybodys expectations. You just have to do your best to enjoy the time you have because you never know.
  • ron50
    ron50 Member Posts: 1,723 Member
    yes
    Hi Christene,
    There are always cracks in anything in life and some of us slip thru the cracks. I have been told by my surgeon and onc that I am cured of the cancer I had ,,,BUT watch out for new ones. Once you have fulfilled the criteria for getting cancer ,if the same conditions return ,you will get a new one. So I spend half of my life with a camera where the sun don't shine and the other half trying to fight off all the other things trying to kill me and that includes half the medicos I see. But yes there are some long term survivors I'm coming up to the end of year 13 my old mate Foxy(Virginnia from New zealand) ,I don't see her much on the boards anymore but she was stage 4 with a liver resection and she was a couple of years in front of me. There is Neon,2B healed,Stacey,Runnerz,Scouty and a heap more who have slipped thru the cracks and stayed vigilant. I class myself as one of lifes accidental tourists, there is nothing I did that makes me a better survivor than anyone else ExCEPT 'I walk on the cracks' :) Ron.
  • lesvanb
    lesvanb Member Posts: 905
    ron50 said:

    yes
    Hi Christene,
    There are always cracks in anything in life and some of us slip thru the cracks. I have been told by my surgeon and onc that I am cured of the cancer I had ,,,BUT watch out for new ones. Once you have fulfilled the criteria for getting cancer ,if the same conditions return ,you will get a new one. So I spend half of my life with a camera where the sun don't shine and the other half trying to fight off all the other things trying to kill me and that includes half the medicos I see. But yes there are some long term survivors I'm coming up to the end of year 13 my old mate Foxy(Virginnia from New zealand) ,I don't see her much on the boards anymore but she was stage 4 with a liver resection and she was a couple of years in front of me. There is Neon,2B healed,Stacey,Runnerz,Scouty and a heap more who have slipped thru the cracks and stayed vigilant. I class myself as one of lifes accidental tourists, there is nothing I did that makes me a better survivor than anyone else ExCEPT 'I walk on the cracks' :) Ron.

    ExCEPT 'I walk on the cracks'
    I like that Ron. Thank you for sharing.

    all the best, Leslie

    PS Thanks for this thread Christine. Timely for me :-)
  • eric38
    eric38 Member Posts: 583
    Kerry S said:

    Can I beat this crap?
    Can I beat this crap? Hell yes! Am I going to let this crap keep me in a constant depression mode? Hell no! I have a wife that needs me along with my 2 sons and their families. Plus, I just damn well enjoy living.

    Any time you feel like it is all over but the shouting, give yourself the Golden Shovel Award. Known as the GSA. I wish we had a box on our post that others could check when they read a GSA post. When the box gets checked more then 10 times you would be required to seek professional help.

    What you do with this award is go out in your back yard and start digging your own grave. Just maybe when your hands start blistering and your back gets weak you will realize it is much easier to have and keep a positive attitude. No one ever accomplished anything with a negative attitude.

    I was told a long time back that you can put your emotions into four boxes. Mad, sad, glad or scared. At the start of this cancer mess I was just “scared”. I then turned to “mad” as hell. Now I am “glad” that I am still alive along with enough “mad” to keep fighting it.

    I will admit I have had to give myself a GSA here and there in my journey. However, I can use my tractor to dig the damn grave. That makes it a lot easier. I am too damned old to dig it by hand.

    Kerry
    I love the golden shovel award. I don't want it but I like the concept . There are days I deserve it.
  • just4Brooks
    just4Brooks Member Posts: 980 Member
    Cancer… It’s never really gone
    Cancer… It’s never really gone

    It hits me when I’m at the park with my kids. It hits me sometimes late at night. It hits me when I see the sun set at the end of the day. It hits me when driving along listening to music. Sometimes even hits be when I’m gong to the bathroom. Cancer is never really gone from our thoughts and that’s the rough part of this fight. But I have today while many of my friends don’t. It reminds me of something I read. It was about this father taking one of his little boys to the park.

    ~ While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there," she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. "He's a fine looking boy" the man said. "That's my son on the swing in the blue sweater."

    Then, looking at his watch, he called to his son. "What do you say we go, Todd?" Todd pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes."

    The man nodded and Todd continued to swing to his heart's content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his son. "Time to go now?" Again Todd pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes." The man smiled and said, "O.K."

    "My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman responded.

    The man smiled and then said, "My older son Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've vowed not to make the same mistake with Todd. He thinks he has five more minutes to swing. The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch him play."


    I just want to stay around for my family for 5 more minutes
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member

    Cancer… It’s never really gone
    Cancer… It’s never really gone

    It hits me when I’m at the park with my kids. It hits me sometimes late at night. It hits me when I see the sun set at the end of the day. It hits me when driving along listening to music. Sometimes even hits be when I’m gong to the bathroom. Cancer is never really gone from our thoughts and that’s the rough part of this fight. But I have today while many of my friends don’t. It reminds me of something I read. It was about this father taking one of his little boys to the park.

    ~ While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there," she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. "He's a fine looking boy" the man said. "That's my son on the swing in the blue sweater."

    Then, looking at his watch, he called to his son. "What do you say we go, Todd?" Todd pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes."

    The man nodded and Todd continued to swing to his heart's content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his son. "Time to go now?" Again Todd pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes." The man smiled and said, "O.K."

    "My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman responded.

    The man smiled and then said, "My older son Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've vowed not to make the same mistake with Todd. He thinks he has five more minutes to swing. The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch him play."


    I just want to stay around for my family for 5 more minutes

    Lovely!
    Made me cry with that one, Brooks. Just wonderful and a great lesson for all of us to learn.

    *hugs*
    Gail