Here in the Bay Area, we are halfway through Week 3 of sheltering in place. We're proud of our county's Public Health Officer, Sara Cody, for being the one who persuaded the other Bay Area counties to join in with this life-saving measure. (Alva and I know Sara from the 1980's.) While we as work-from-home writers and artists are not having our lives utterly disrupted, our friends and neighbors are facing some extremely challenging times. And lest we forget:
I celebrate the complexity of living as an aware adult. I can rejoice at the prospect of my beloved's upcoming 80th birthday, while feeling wistful at knowing that instead of dining in Paris on our dream vacation, we'll be having a yummy meal at home with just the kitties.
And I can be sober about my longterm prospects as a Stage IV pancreatic cancer patient, even as I eagerly share my excellent medical news that I'm experiencing a reduction of the nodules in my lungs in the 4th month of a clinical trial using a PARP inhibitor with only minor side effects. The scary things in my lungs are not multiplying and the bigger ones are shrinking. And I feel great!
Nine months ago I was looking at a very grim prognosis. While there is no cure in sight, I've been granted months more to live fully. My resilient body, this effective drug (talazoparib), top notch medical care, and most important of all, your love and support are making for a springtime of optimism and, yes, joy.
Right now: think of someone you care about. Someone who might be feeling a tad alone right now. Reach out, send a greeting, engage. By maintaining physical distance while remembering our fundamental closeness, we will return to our day-to-day lives when it's feasible, perhaps sadder but wiser.
I wish you well. You make life sweet. So Happy Birthday to Alva and Happy Lifeday to you!