Inspiring Personal Stories.

[kwilkinson]

you might recall that, six years ago, i was a dead man walking.

and then, a bit over five years ago, i finished a six month round of chemo.

i was weak, i was sick, the hair that hadn't fallen out had broken off and the few that hadn't broken off were thin and straight. you might recall i kept it about 1/8 inch long....it seemed to minimize the damage....although maybe that was just the damage to my pride with being so weak and all.

but its five years later and i'm still stompin on the terra...my hair is mostly back to normal...thick and curly...my health is mostly back to normal. i'm strong, i'm vital and i remember, every day, that this is all a gift. it's all a freebie. a little more one way or the other and i'd already be dead or i'd be sitting in a hospice somewhere waiting for it.

it's five years later...

i'm working pretty hard with the payroll conversion and the banking changes, and you KNOW that managing this department is like trying to herd cats. but it's cool work...i have to be on my game and i always love that part of it.

and after work i'll go home, open a beer, chat with rox about how our days went, discuss the kids or our plans.

this weekend i'll do some house project or work on my hobbies or go to the library or maybe just kick back and read some fiction.

sunday i'll send the colts valuable psychic advice and watch them win another game.

maybe this beeper on my hip will go off and i'll save somebody's life. or maybe it'll go off and i'll get up at 2 a.m. and some woman will insist that i take her 9 year old to the emergency room for poison ivy. either way, i'll flip up the siren for a second...just because i can.

and in a couple months franti will come back around and i'll dance with reckless abandon with my family and friends.

and then summer will come and i'll fish and spend good times at the lake with more of my family and friends.

and each and every one of those things is precious to me. every thick curly hair on my head is a reminder. every rain drop that slaps me in the face is a reminder: this is all a gift.

i could hit 'send' on this email, have a massive heart attack and fall down dead and i still got all this extra time. i still got to hang with you guys, my wife, my kids, my friends, my ambulance buds. i got all these extra days and they've been good....outstanding, really.

so i guess that's it. poke your fun...make your jokes...but know that i'm here with you and i'm very, very thankful for that.