February 4, 2010 11:55 PM 17 days to go

At last!

Tonight marked my first return to choir practice after almost 16 months. It marks another big step on my road back to where I used to be. Obviously, I can never really return to the road that I used to be on because I am just not the same person that I was before.

So many things have happened on this miraculous journey that you just can't help but look at things differently...

Don't take anything for granted
Focus on what is important in life: people - not things
Appreciate what you do have - there are always people worse off than you are
Life is a gift - but it's no good to you or anyone else unless you put it to good use

These are a few of the things that have come forward over the past 16 months. I know that up until that time, life just seemed to go on and you scheduled and planned with no thought that anything could disrupt how you approached each day. Not so for me anymore. I double check each day to make sure that I still seem to be healthy and then start the day looking to accomplish something.

I've now volunteered to be a docent at the Currier Museum's Zimmerman house and I've signed up to attend a leukemia group therapy session. They've even now offered sessions by phone which I may do if I find I can''t be of any help in the face-to-face sessions. My new life will be full.

But it will certainly be different from the life that I expected it to be...

Bob