Running in place

I went for a run today, which wasn’t terribly productive. The sidewalks were nonexistant and the roads had several inches of hard-packed snow making me feel like I was running in place. Which is how cancer treatment feels sometimes. Like we put forth enormous effort and get all tired out, but don’t get much of anywhere.

That’s not true, of course. We should be “getting somewhere;” it’s just not a place we can see yet. The marbles are indeed moving, one jar almost equal to the other (although I think it’s time for me to sneak some extras into the “Days Left” jar). But I do feel like we’re just biding our time, waiting for it all to be over.

We all start to feel like that at this point in the year (especially this year, when the whole country seems buried under snow) — wondering when spring will come, counting the days until the warm weather hits. It’s especially so when you’ve got a kid with cancer: Let’s just get through this, let the dark days end, let the sun shine again.

Funny thing, though, is that Austin isn’t biding his time. He isn’t just waiting for it all to be over. He’s still living each day to the fullest. Today we tried to build a snowman (but it wasn’t good packing snow), he went sledding with Braedan and Daddy, and in between he jumped on the bed and the couch and down the stairs. No waiting for this kid, no running in place.

There is still joy, even with gray skies.