Tocharacterizethismessageasinspirationalisprobablyoverthetop， butgrantmethismuch—， climbanymountainanddrawtheirlastbreathwithoptimismandgrace.
Iadmirethetake-chargeattitudeandenergyofsuchpeople， ， however， Icanrelateto.
-beaterstoriesaresimplypartofalargerconspiracytogeteveryoneinthecountrytolivelifetothefullest—travelmore， learntoplaythetuba， teachourgrandchildrenaboutthefalloftheRomanEmpire， buildourownlathesandturnthatcherrytreeinthefrontyardintosaladbowlsforthewholeneighborhood.
Eachoftheseventuresisfinewhenconsideredbyitself (exceptmaybeforthesalad-bowlthing)， butIamsuspiciousoftheculturalimperativethatwhetherwearesickorwell， ， facedwithacatastrophichealthevent， wanttoputmorepinsintheirmaps， buttherearesomeofuswhosimplyfindrenewedmeaninginouralreadyexistingworlds.
Sincemychemotherapytreatment， Ihaveexperiencedsmall “Zen” rushes—anarrestingsenseoftranquilitycoupledwiththeheightenedawarenessthatwhatIamdoingatthatmomentisexactlywhatIwanttobedoing—whetherI’msittinginarestaurantwithanewspaper， readingabookinbed， ， butnotasoftenoraseasily.
Thissenseofwell-beingisawelcomechange， butIcan’， —plays， symphonies， singers—butIammoreeasilysatisfiedthesedays， andIdon’tfeelasmuchthatIammissingsomethingifIdon’， butcancerhasawayofseparatingthosewhoareclosesttoyoufromthosewhoarenot.
DuringchemoIlostmyhair， ， .
Theclichésaboutsicknessandmarriagearetrue—， Iknewshe’dbethereonthetoughestdays.
