In 1994
- Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa
- Nancy Kerrigan was attacked prior to the Olympics
- Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House
- Kurt Cobain killed himself
- OJ Simpson took a long drive in a white SUV
- Aldrich Ames was arrested
- The Chunnel opened
- Netscape was the browser of choice
- Yahoo! was founded
- Ellen and ER both debut
- I had cancer.
Today I am 16 years cancer free. It's my second sixteenth birthday, so I'm wishing myself a sweet sixteen.
In the sixteen years since I began to learn what it means to be a cancer survivor I have:
- fallen out of and into love
- written two unpublished novels
- told countless stories
- listened to countless stories
- biked thousands of miles
- and raised thousands of dollars for cancer research
- been to several countries
- been kind
- and cruel
- laughed
- cried
- mused
- slept
- lived.
And really, what more is there? I am alive and grateful for each breath. My love and thanks to all who are accompanying me on the journey.
(c)2010 Laura S. Packer
image courtesy of Einstein's Lock
Congratulations to your 2nd "sweet sixteen"! It's good to realize that sometimes stories turn out well. (I didn't write "end"... nothing really ends...)
ReplyDeleteNot a bad way to look back on 16 years. Much love, breda.
ReplyDeleteclicked on this blog because of the cool picture. Happy 16th again! Even if it was months ago celebrating cancer free is an ongoing process. We celebrate it daily in this house especially everytime I see my daughter out riding her horse. Stage 4 to cancer free in one year! She is a go girl!You are too!
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