T+122 Dancing in the rain.

 

BOX SCORE	9/5/24
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	11.7	13-17	v
Platelets	168	140-375	^
ANC	3410	1800-8300	^

Heraclitus was a pre-Socratic philosopher who lived in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. (Source) Not much is known about his life. As far as we know, he only wrote one book, and it only survives in the form of fragments of pages. Apparently, Heraclitus was a melancholic and misanthropic man who became known as the crying philosopher. He is credited with the statement “change is the only constant in life.” (Source)

In my experience there is a great deal of truth in that statement. Some change is gradual, and some comes more like the flip of a switch. Most of us grow older over a period of decades, and although we may not notice day by day, eventually we realize that we don't look the same as we once did. I guess I really started thinking about this kind of thing when I first heard Bonnie Raitt sing "Nick of Time," back in the 1980s.  Part of the lyrics go like this: 

I see my folks are getting on
And I watch their bodies change
I know they see the same in me
And it makes us both feel strange

No matter how you tell yourself
It's what we all go through
Those lines are pretty hard to take
When they're staring back at you

Oh Oh Oh, scared you'll run out of time

Slow change is, nevertheless, change and is, perhaps, more insidious than rapid change. Think of the frog in the kettle that is slowly coming to a boil. On the other hand, rapid change is more challenging, because it requires us to adapt more quickly, sometimes without enough time to weigh all the alternatives and make the best decision. 

Jill and I are dealing with some of these changes now. In the slow change category is my three plus year encounter with leukemia. It's kind of like the frog in the pot in reverse. We have come from being told that I was within two weeks of death to a place of having hope of many years of useful lifetime ahead. Another slow change has been more like the Bonnie Raitt song. You know, the part about the lines being hard to take when they are staring back at you. 

Three years of periodic chemotherapy has caused muscle wasting throughout my body, and the muscle wasting combined with constant reminders not to lose weight have resulted in flabby limbs and a growing middle. As anyone knows who has gotten out of shape and then tried to reverse the situation, this is a recipe for another slow change to come. 

In terms of quicker changes, I have  been amazed at how quickly my stamina is increasing. I have written about our quest to keep up a regular exercise regimen, even during my hospital stay at OHSU, and afterward for the 100 days we spent in our basement apartment in Portland during the follow up treatment. In spite of those efforts, when we arrived home and started walking our 2 mile circuit around the neighborhood,  I could barely make one mile at a go. We had to split the two miles into two walks. 

As of today, some of the neighbors asked Jill as we were passing  by whether she is able to keep up with me! I can easily do the whole two miles as fast as I ever could. That has happened in just three weeks. 

We have spent the last couple of days reorganizing our garage: going through cabinets and thinning and organizing their contents, cleaning deep, dark corners and planning to paint the walls and ceiling in the near future. The garage, after all, is not only where we keep our cars, but it is also Jill's laundry room and the pathway to our brew pub. (I won't even mention that our neighbors across the street have recently painted the interior of their garage and put down an epoxy floor finish. If you think keeping up with the Joneses is hard, try keeping up with the Filsons!)

So, change happens, and I think it is the one thing we can count on. No matter what it looks like, change is here to stay, and the best way I know to confront it is to embrace the change. One of my favorite adages goes like this: "You can't change the weather, but you can learn to dance in the rain." 

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13)