Yes, that's me on my Honda Rebel motorcycle, complete with pink ribbons. Why, you ask? Well, John has wanted a bike since he was about 12 years old, and with the rising gas prices, he finally had a good excuse to get one. He has the perfect commute for it and has really been enjoying his rides. But it's really not "me" to be a "bird" (biker talk) and ride behind him on his bike, so I had to get one of my own. I'm not as into it as he is, but he got SCUBA certified for me (and now he loves diving) so I got my motorcycle license for him. Our first trip was to San Juan Island in August. To get to the ferry, we had to ride up Hwy 20, which was a little nerve wracking, especially since in our motorcycle safety class, we had never gone faster than 15 mph. All of a sudden I had to go 50-55 mph with cars and trucks and...yikes! I was very thankful that Brian, Sharon and Nick were following us in their car. I knew they had my six! We've gone on a couple other fun rides, sticking to the back roads as much as possible.
Not too long ago, we watched the movie The Bucket List. I thought it was just going to be about two old guys living it up before they got too old and kicked the bucket. So it was a rude awakening to discover they both had cancer. Regardless, I think creating a bucket list is something everyone should do, not that I've gotten mine started yet. (I did tell John that for my 50th birthday, which will also be my 5 year survivor anniversary, I want to go skydiving. I don't know that he'll be joining me for that one, since he doesn't even like roller coaster drops.) My attitude has changed a bit since my diagnosis. I'm more willing to do things that might be considered "dangerous". I still have a very healthy sense of fear, but I'm trying not to let that keep me from doing things I want to do. Like the song says, "Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying".
I was going to stop there - but that song has a phrase that really touched me. Maybe because it wasn't what I was expecting. When I heard the word "forgiveness" from the man in his 40's, facing his own mortality, I expected him to be asking for forgiveness. But instead, he says "I gave forgiveness I'd been denying". I GAVE forgiveness. I had never really thought about it that way before and I found the concept very interesting. Whether you have faced cancer or not, life is too precious and way too short to be burdened by having an unforgiving spirit.
