Mass Tonight

Tonight Kevin and I are really missing one another.

I can already see how cancer has altered the direction of our lives. Living apart weekdays has had it's occasional rough moments but all in all we've managed it well. Facing Kevin's cancer reminds us that we are each other's largest support system which magnifies the distance this week.

Went to Mass tonight for the Holy Day. We had emailed some of our parish friends a few days ago. After thinking about it some, Kevin decided to be added to the prayers of the faithful and Beth managed to work his name in tonight. It was strange to hear his name read out loud.

I had to laugh--in between a lot of uncontrollable tears (The Mary songs always bring me to tears and especially this year)--Lisa and the kids sat with me. Always kind and generous, Lisa is especially tuned in to cancer and what it brings to a family. Her mother died just about a year ago from rectal cancer. Their Maragret is a particularly candid 8 years old. Realizing that Kevin has cancer, she made the obvious association to her grandmother's death a year ago. "Is Kevin going to die?" Lisa looked horrified but it seemed to me like a perfectly reasonable question. Heaven knows it's been bouncing around in my mind nonstop for days now and I appreciated Margaret giving it a simple voice.

St. Tom's reminds us that we may be overwhelmed but we are not alone.