Happy Blog Day to Me! I started this blog nine years ago today, in 2003! Wow. It's hard to remember the days of not having a blog, I've been jotting down thoughts and events for so long.

And speaking of thoughts and events, there was no shortage of those on Thursday, when the whole family headed off with my one relative to the specialist's office to get the rundown of what, exactly, is going on medically.

To make a long story less long, all the doctors agree with my relative that surgery is not a viable option. Even if the docs were saying otherwise, my relative doesn't want it anyway and I always respect the patient's decision in matters like this. Also, while there are some other forms of aggressive treatment that are available, those would only cause terrible side effects like pain, sickness, weakness, etc., and they would cause all those symptoms WITHOUT being accompanied by any form of material benefit. So if all those things would do is impair the QUALITY of life without doing anything to enhance the QUANTITY (or long-term quality) of life, then those invasive, aggressive treatments are not options that are worth pursuing. On this point, also, the patient and doctors are all in agreement. I understand and agree with this stance, as well. I might not LIKE it, but I understand and agree with it.

So the specialist doc basically said, "Right now, there is no pain and no sickness, and vital signs are excellent. Go and enjoy life, enjoy your friends, do what you enjoy doing, and eat whatever you like." He described two different symptoms to be on the alert for, and outlined what the treatments would be if either of those symptoms appeared (which might not even happen).

We don't have any time frame given for whatever might happen next. That's probably just as well. Who could enjoy life to the fullest if they've got a mental stopwatch constantly running in their head? So here's hoping and praying for a good stint of quality time on the horizon.

There's always going to be a part of me that wants to respond to any report of disease by going thermonuclear on it and wiping it out of existence. But my logical mind understands that this isn't a case where that can happen. We all have to play the cards we're dealt, but nobody ever promised that we would LIKE the cards we're dealt. So I'm going to take a proactive role in the "enjoying quality time" project, even while I wish that there were some different cards in this particular hand.

There's also always going to be a part of me that rails against the idea that a GOOD person would ever have any illness or suffering, even while evil people are running around healthy and prosperous. But then I have to stop and think. Here is OUR good person, with the entire family trooping into the doctor's office and visiting our relative in the hospital and in the rehab facility. Plus, every time my parents and I have gone to visit our relative, be it in the hospital or at the rehab facility, there's been at least one and sometimes two friends also visiting. Contrast that with the fate of the evil people of the world -- will THEIR whole family accompany them to the doctor? Or will they have friends who visit them regularly? And if they do, will it be out of real love, or out of a hope that they'll get something in return?

Somewhere in the Bible is the observation that the rain falls on the good and the bad alike. I don't know which book or chapter it is, but I know it's in there. So even though our final rewards come to us after we meet our Maker, maybe this is the earthly recompense that the good people receive: that they have loved ones who rush to hold up an umbrella when they are getting rained on, and the loved ones are doing it out of love rather than for selfish reasons.

Either way, consider Project Enjoy Life to be officially under way.