We lost a family member yesterday. When she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s some odd thirty years ago, she opted to go through an experimental treatment — knowing that the most likely side effect would be tumors. She was one of the few who survived the treatment, but it kept its promise and the last few years have been difficult ones.

She underwent surgery for yet another tumor last week and this one proved to be too much. But before she went in, she said the most amazing thing to my brother-in-law… I’ve had thirty years I wasn’t supposed to have. That’s powerful. I’ve met so many people who have trouble finding something special in every day… not realizing that just seeing the sun come up one more time is as special as it gets.

A while back, I posted a link to The Dash by Linda Ellis. If you’ve already read it, you should read it again. If you missed it, you might want to grab a tissue or two before you head on over to Linda’s blog — the poem is at the bottom of the page.

As I now reflect on the times I had the pleasure of being in Sue’s company, I can’t help but think that she’s one of the privileged few who would be proud of how she spent her dash. I remember thinking the first time I met her now here’s a real human being. She was down to earth and she had a big heart, and she made me laugh.

We love you Sue, and we’ll miss you.