More Important Things

I guess the universe has its ways of letting you know what's important and what's not. On Halloween, while I was still mentally rehashing and re-analyzing the previous topic, Don found out that his mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer. He's driving back home on Friday and is going to spend the week there, to be there when she undergoes the operation on Sunday.

As far as things go, it doesn't look bad... she's healthy and takes good care of herself, early stages, blah blah blah. It doesn't change the fact that it's cancer, though, and Don's understandably really upset. He's such a stoic, reserved kind of guy, so when the floodgates of emotion open up... watch out! We dealt with the news as any normal red-blooded couple would by going out drinking. Rather, he drank and I watched because I forgot my ID. You'd think at 25 I could get an alcoholic beverage without a driver's license. Don's so worried about his parents, and I'm worried about him. I wish I could go with him and be there, too. I talked to his mom on the phone last night and she told me not to worry because it's "not life threatening". Right... that non-deadly kind of cancer. Nice of her, though. I told Don all the usual things, don't worry, she's going to be fine, etc etc etc. With his usual brilliant cut-through-the-bullshit, I've-been-taking-Yager-shots he said, "I know she'll be fine now. But someday it won't be, and what'll I do then?" I don't have an answer for that, sweetie. It's what we all face, consciously or not.

It turns out that his biggest fear now is me dying. I never knew that before.

As an aside, thanks to everyone and anyone who went out of their way to make me feel better after my last post, and who reminded me who my real friends are. Anyways. Off to make get-well-soon-with-pecan-cookies for Don to take back home with him.