Strikes and Gutters, Ups and Downs.

The Dude abides.

Today, I went on a picnic with my wife.

"Uh, hey, Boo-boo!"

It's something we started doing back before I knew I had cancer. We go to this specific spot. It's not a park; it's more of a greenbelt that runs alongside a stream. There's grass and lots of trees and a pathway you can walk. It's a gorgeous area.

So when we went today, we stopped first at Antonella's to get a Caprese salad and this amazing sandwich called a Panino Prosciutto, which is basically like a Caprese sandwich and prosciutto in panini bread, served hot. In case you don't know what a Caprese salad is, it's tomatoes and fresh mozzarella and basil with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

When we arrived, it was hot and sunny, but our spot is shaded, so it was a pleasant temperature. Maybe a little on the warm side, but good. The stream is running high this year, due to an unusually rainy summer. I love being by the water--ocean, lake, river, pond, whatever. And if the water makes sound, so much the better.

So it should have been perfect, right? Shade, water, company (my wife is my favorite person in the whole wide world; I never get sick of her).

Idyllic.

But there was a massive construction site near enough that we were inundated with the sounds of jackhammers, trucks backing up, heavy things landing with a crash. Our perfect picnic spot, ruined.

Here's the thing, though. Once we'd been there for a bit, we got used to the noise. We were close enough to the stream so we could still hear it. The trees were still there. The grass was green. The shade was perfect--no sun coming through to interrupt the cooler temperature there.

Sometimes I get discouraged due to all of the side effects of the chemo. But then I remember that it's killing Todd. I get to survive because of the treatments.

Yes, I'd love to have fewer side effects, or to have them be less intense. But life is still beautiful. There are the blissful moments when something tastes good. Their rarity makes them all the more precious. I have an amazing family and incredible friends who are all supporting me in some really spectacular ways (my neighbor came over to our house and mowed our lawn--who does that?).

Basically, what I'm saying is that beauty... abides. Like the Dude.

Next post.