Leukemia and Lessons on Control

August 29, 2009, is a date that will forever be burned into my mind.  In some ways, it still seems like it was yesterday that my healthy thirteen year-old son almost slipped away into death.  It was a day that, up to this point, marks the defining event and dominating circumstance of my last decade.  I have been reading my posts and blogs about Brad’s battle with leukemia (and the complications it caused) from the past eight years.  I can still feel the horror of helplessly watching Brad’s unrecognizable body teeter between life and death.  I remember the joy of progress and the despair at setbacks as Brad improved and digressed.

Stay to the Right

As I drove to church this morning, my wife and I barely avoided an Audi SUV whose driver apparently had no clue that others might also be driving on the road.  Our quiet Shelby County road is one-lane, curvy, and very tight in spots.  When we built our house here sixteen years ago, I was a relatively young pup of thirty-five years.  Being enthusiastic for my new home and neighborhood, I tried my hand at organizing my neighbors to get our little road widened for safety.  I quickly learned that this was a non-starter.  My neighbors informed me that the road was one of the main reasons they moved here.  They said it kept the “through traffic” out.  Unfortunately, it also creates the necessity for constant anticipation of the potential dangers around every curve and over every hill.