I don't mean to be repetitive but this was a good day. It was a very long day but a good one. My journey began at 8:00 this morning for the trip to the doctor. Round five is now behind me. It all went much smoother than was my anticipation. Sitting in even a comfortable chair for a few hours still gets old fast. Most of the time I just stared at the television in my cubicle. But let me give a huge shout out to the ladies in the chemo wing of the clinic. They go above and beyond the call of duty. Patience has to be a virtue while working in that setting. Every question however dumb gets a gracious answer. This afternoon, one of the volunteers stopped by with two really great presents. One gift is a book of recipes for those going through chemo. It breaks it down by what symptoms the patient may be facing. There is even a very good section at the end for diet following your treatment. The other gift was a package of helpful goodies such as mouth rinse should sores arise during the next week. You need to know that on my very first trip for treatment that she is the one who snuck me some banana bread. My toxic chemicals will probably still do a number on me but my attitude is much better after day one.

It took me until 5:00 to return home. There was a fast errand to run before getting back to the comforts of home. I cooked for everyone then left to exercise. One thing that may change is the intensity of my workouts during this first week. Steroids do provide a great temptation to do far too much. Remember that my blood count will be affected to some degree this week. Cardio exercise is still a focus for me. My hope is that watching the diet along with a new approach to exercise may help me recover faster than round four. I am honestly grateful for the energy level that seems to hold its own despite all of the poisonous medicine. Some have a difficult time just getting out of bed during all of this. No doubt that my life moves slower but it does at least keep moving.

Tonight was the very best end to the day. My youngest is fourteen and autistic. He is not immune to the changes of puberty. On this evening he really needed to shave. Let me repeat that. My best buddy needed to shave. So after his shower we stood at the sink for our first dad lesson on doing that. We ran the water. We got out the shaving cream. For some reason I still buy some on rare occasions even though my need for it is very occasional. Dad got his face all lathered up. He just looked at himself in the mirror. Then it was time to start with the razor. He began the process with some odd looking swipes. Dad told him all about being careful with the sharp edges of the blades. After a few minutes it was my turn to run the razor across his face. I told him how to move it in the right directions for different parts of the process. We then got to the rinsing off part. Maybe it was just something new for him but for me it was a priceless moment.

Today reminds me that the best things in life just may be free. Unexpected gifts come along if you are open to recognize them. Significant moments spring up when you least expect. Some people spend tons of money trying to get some of the feelings that were mine today. Notice that even the circumstances of the day did not limit the possibility of good things happening. When you learn not to be so wrapped up in your own world then you may find gifts like this are more common than you imagine. It will not matter today how my body feels. What will stay with me is the small events that bring joy to the heart. For those times all that can be done is to thank God for His grace.

Bro. Trey