"So.....it is cancer?..."

Today started like any normal day.  My daughter brought Maggie over early for us to babysit while she worked and my son in law helped out a family member.  Cheyenne woke up with a beautiful smile ready to take on the day.  I actually slept in a little thanks to a caring wife that kept it quiet in the house.  Quiet that is till the phone rang around 9:30 am.  I was still in that hazy, confusing state of semi-sleep.  I couldn't exactly hear the conversation the wife was having, and I had no idea who was on the other end of the line, but something forced me to clear my head and pay closer attention.  It was at that point that I heard my wife in a shaken voice say the words that will surely forever reverberate in my memory,

"so....it IS cancer..."
This was no secret, there was no surprise, we even expected those words to be spoken at some time in this process.  Knowing this, we have spent the last couple of days preparing as best as possible to be strong when the moment came.  Not losing one opportunity for a hug, or a kiss, or a simple pat on the leg of reassurance and love.  Taking the time to say "it's going to be alright" in passing.  Showing each other courage and strength with something as simple as a wink and a smile.  All of this designed to construct around us a cushion or buffer zone hoping to ease some of the shock and pain when the moment came.  It would be wonderful for me to report to you that being prepared made it all so much easier, but I have to tell you that just isn't the case.  Nothing can prepare you for the news that someone you love is facing their mortality directly.  My heart was crushed.  Question after question begged for attention in my mind.  Fear, confusion, anger, and sorrow took turns running laps in my heart.  What do we do now?  The game had forever been changed and I hadn't trained for this.

 Whether or not you prepare for the future, it happens.  That's the harsh reality of the indifference of destiny.

We spent the rest of the morning breaking the news to family and our closest friends before posting it on Facebook.   Support and sympathy was the theme for the day mixed with a smattering of advice and inspiration.  Proof once again that Mawg and I have this beautiful cirle of life that encompasses some of the most caring, loving, and beautiful people God has ever brought together.   We then took a few moments alone, together.  Allowing the overflow of emotion.  Holding on to each other tight enough to keep us in place while the rest of the Universe was spinning in the way it does each and every moment in time.   We used that few seconds to reassure each other that this was just another fight.  We are okay with a fight.  Hell we are the World Tag Team Champions!  We have faced men, moments, and machines that have kicked us around, and at given moments either one of us may have been down for a two count.  But that's one of us, and there are two on this team.

 Nothing has ever beaten us as a team in twenty four years.  This isn't going to be the first.