Traversing Life

Going Home

I left the town where I grew up when I was 18 to enlist in the Air Force and have never lived there since.  Much of my family still resides in the area and I go back for family reunions, funerals, weddings and other occasions.  Last weekend I went for a visit.

I always enjoy going back to that little town in Ohio and I certainly enjoy visiting family.  They have a way of lifting me up and reminding me of where I came from.  I have a very colorful family.  Not all of them, but a few are real characters.  I saw one of my nephews for the first time in years.  He is the son of my more colorful brother.  He has had a very tough stretch of years and it was so good to see him and to see him looking so well.  He is 28 now and it was only yesterday he was 5 and standing in the upstairs window peeing on the dog in the backyard.  I told you.....colorful. 

Family is a wonderful thing.  You don't get to choose them and try as you might you can never lose them. I have often envied people who live as adults in the same town they grew up in. A mere generation before mine and that was the norm.  I missed my family often after I moved away, but no matter where life took me during those years, I could always find my way back home.

.....and it's all small stuff.

In October of last year I had a routine annual physical and it was time for my routine (every 3 years) colonoscopy. During the latter a mass was discovered in my small intestine that was diagnosed as a “carcinoid tumor”. During the next two months of extensive tests I researched everything I could on this condition.

 

It is a very rare and unique form of cancer. In one source I read it was called “cancer in slow motion”. This all sounded great for me and the two months of tests confirmed it was isolated to the one location.

 

In January I had surgery where a section of my small intestine and the right third of my colon were removed. I spent 9 days in the hospital, but at the end of it I was declared “cancer free”. No need for chemotherapy or any other major follow up. Indeed, I am very fortunate.

 

The months leading up to the surgery and until the final outcome was secure were ones of emotional upheaval and evaluation. I was in the midst of other personal life issues which only added to the reflection. 

 

The end result of it all is a renewed understanding of what is really important. Careers give us both personal fulfillment and frustration. Family life is no different. Love and acceptance for who we are as individuals coupled with the love of family, friends, and especially of those very special individuals in our lives is the key. The best medicine possible! It is this realization that makes every other aspect of life meaningful. A career alone has little that matters in the longer scheme of a life time if it stands alone as one’s means of fulfillment. Fun!!!! We all need to have fun at work, at home, and with friends.

 

I’ll stop rambling now.

Welcome

This is one of two blogs I have. The other blog "Transforming IT" is specific to the management challenges running Information Technology in the support of business. 

This blog is more laid back and while IT topics will certainly be posted and discussed, there is so much more to life than our chosen career or profession.  It is all the life experiences we have that make us who we are. I have learned much from the the experiences, writings, speeches, and mostly personal interaction with others.  Every day something happens that causes us to pause and reflect.  That is what this blog is intended for.

I look forward to the interaction and exchange of thoughts and ideas to the subjects posted here.

Welcome to my world.