Planning

Bob has a cousin in Germany (hi Chris!) and for years we have talked about going to visit. As best I can tell, Bob and Chris are really the same person except that Bob is seven years older than Chris and Chris moved to Germany. They talk every day by computer, usually in the form of a science fiction strategy game they've been playing for well over a year. I kept thinking about it and thinking about it and a couple of weeks ago, I announced to Bob that we should plan to go to Germany in 2006.

In one sense, this goes against the big lesson I learned when I was diagnosed, which is, 'You can't plan.' But of course, it is precisely because of Hodgkins that I decided we had to go. Not because we could die any day and have missed the opportunity. I haven't learned that lesson at all. But because planning cool stuff makes uncool times bearable. This was borne out by a guy Bob works with who has cancer. 'Trips are good,' he said. And they are.

So I've fought to keep on track to go to New Mexico in May. And we'll go to Wiscon. And next year we'll go to Germany. If something comes up next year, we'll deal with it then. That's the other thing I've learned--if something comes up, you just deal with it as best you can.