Be Kind

 

So, I've been walking at least 2.5-miles a day now for close to two years.  Typically, I walk the same route and often see and pass the same people doing the same.  There's this one older woman that I would see a couple of times a week and we'd always exchange pleasantries in passing.  One day we stopped and introduced ourselves and chatted for a bit.  This became more of the norm, that we'd stop and chat each time we saw one another.  She's very nice and I always enjoyed our chats.

I stopped seeing her as often and then all together never seeing her.  Then on a Saturday morning about a year ago, we bumped into each other again - it was so nice to see her.  She was with her husband and their two older dogs, a pug and a golden retriever, and she introduced me to all three of them.  She then proceeded to tell me that she had been diagnosed with cancer and that the reason she wasn't walking was due to the treatments she was going through.  They were taking a toll and she didn't have the strength to get her walks in.

That was the last time I've seen her.  However, I do see her husband often when he's out walking the dog, the pug.  Sadly, they had to put the golden down earlier this year.  We always stop and chat or will walk together for a bit, and I always ask about his wife.  I saw him on my 6AM walk this morning and when I asked about his wife he told me that he's taking her for a CT scan tomorrow.  Seems she's having issues with one side of her face and having difficulty seeing out of one eye.  He told me the doctors fear the cancer has spread to her brain.

The point of this story is that we're all going through shit.  We all have struggles and challenges and you just never know.  The old adage, that if we all threw our problems into a pile, and saw what others are faced with, we'd grab ours back, is SO true.

I'm sadden by the news and hearing this turn of events put things into perspective for me.  I've been struggling myself as of late and having a tough time of things but my struggles, although valid and real, pale in comparison to the struggles of cancer.

So, 

be kind.

be thankful.

appreciate what you have

and please say a prayer for this woman.