Thank goodness the steroids are finally wearing off. God knows that this weekend was not enjoyable in the physical sense. Don't get me wrong. I generally felt good. But 500 mg of that stuff over five days does build up in the end. Last night was a decent night of sleep. That was the first time in a few days that happened. I went and had my weekly blood work drawn this afternoon. No one called afterward so that means all systems are go. Thankfully I was able to get back into the gym this evening. Nothing feels better than about thirty minutes of cardio exercise followed by some weight lifting. I may be sick but I am still somewhat vain about it!

In other news, I need a haircut. Yes, the guy taking the massive chemo cocktail needs to visit a barber. It felt like my hair slowed down its normal growth rate after the first round. More than a few people lose their hair around day 21. I would swear that after round two that mine actually kicked in again on growing. Part of me does not want to cut the hair. Why aggravate it during treatment? Another part of me knows that if it returns to normal we will have a mess. My hair tends to get thick with waves that have their own mind of where to go. Should this pattern continue we will have a decision to make. For right now I am just going to wash, brush and enjoy it while it is here.

Today I met a man at the cancer center who I'd not seen before. Our schedules are probably different so our paths don't cross. One of the wonderful volunteers introduced me to him. He looks to be in his 70s or 80s. His wife was with him in the waiting room. My thought is here is a man who is using all of his life to his fullest. He just has that glow about him. Even though he is ill, it sure seems like he is going to get his money's worth here. What made it unusual is his attire. The volunteer told me that whenever he comes in for treatment or lab work that he wears a different hat. Today this man was wearing a great big three cornered pirate hat! He looked awesome! A new hero of mine was born in that moment. Why sit back in life waiting on the good or the bad? Be a pirate and relish all God gives us.

We tend to let our spiritual life become routine. I confess that this is something God is working me over about lately. We let the molehills become mountains while forgetting the essential truths. We wait for something out there to happen to fix our life. We watch as others dig into the simple wonder of living. Sadly this can become contagious to others around us. My honest admission is this sums up far too much of my earthly journey. One of my daily prayers now is that God will allow me to get as much out of every day as possible. It's not my job to worry about tomorrow but to soak up today. So even if my hair should take a leave of absence I know I can still wear a pirate hat and keep on going.

Bro. Trey