Saying Goodbye to a Friend

 2020 can just stop.  It seems that every time we turn around more bad news piles up.

Devastating Wildfires scorching homes and hearts.

Destructive Volcanoes and Earthquakes rattling our peace.

Pandemics and Fear squeezing the breath right out of us.

Quarantines and Suffering continuing to haunt.

So many plans that were abruptly changed or cancelled... the weddings, the birthdays... the trips, the visits... and funerals that hung in limbo for much too long. 

The world stood still while our heartaches mounted.

Yesterday we were served yet again another dose of bad news.  Hard news.  News that we perhaps knew was coming, but nevertheless caught us off guard.

Alex Trebek lost his long battle with pancreatic cancer this weekend past.

And it made my heart falter a bit when I heard the news.

Alex Trebek felt like a friend.  We invited him into our home every evening after supper and he never failed to entertain...and educate us!

His charm and dry wit and kindness on the long-time set of Jeopardy has been a staple in our lives for decades, passed down from our parents... I can remember a sweet Mother-in-law who loved his show and could pose questions to his answers faster than we could look them up on google!

We have followed his pancreatic cancer journey with hope as he passed the dreaded 3-6 month prognosis and then a year, and 18 months... we dared to believe he would be one of the few who beat this cancer and could pave the way for others to find a treatment that worked.

Our hearts go out to his family and friends who loved him well.

He will be mssed by so many.

Mike Richards, the executive producer of Jeopardy, shared his thoughts in a touching tribute last night before Alex Trebek's final Jeopardy episode series began.

"He loved this show and everything it stood for.  In fact, he filmed his final episodes less than two weeks ago.  He will forever be an inspiration for his constant desire to learn, his kindness and for his love of his family."

And now, he will also be the face of hope to all those fighting this deadly disease.

He chose to meet his cancer head-on and through his transparent, honest updates, he has encouraged all of us to stand up and do something about this cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer research is one of the least funded cancers and the 5-year survival rate is dismally still in the single digits. That needs to change, and Alex was determined to use his platform to make a difference.

With his death, the torch has been passed to us.

We can and must make a difference for all those in the fight of their lives...

Pancreatic Cancer does not get the final say.

During an interview earlier this year, Alex Trebek said his final sign-off will be a significant moment for him, sharing these parting words,

"And until we meet again, God bless you and goodbye."

Jurassic Park at the Lake!

 We've been over-run by dinosaurs!

The cutest kind!

Happy Halloween, y'all!

Happy Fall!

 

This might be me...

Love, from Texas!

October Happenings

There's just something about the crisp, chilly days of autumn...And we have filled them up to overflowing this year (there might be a pic or two!)

Traveling the back roads of America's heartland with good friends, a surprise and cherished family photo shoot, and a fabulous, much-needed girls getaway to Waco... 

We have been loved well by our family and friends!! 

In a world

where you can be anything,

Be

Kind...

My Love,
Always,
Jane

How to Live Life Well in the Midst of the Storm

Bad news... we all will get our share.

A friend's cancer diagnosis would be bad... yours would be worse.

And finding out it's pancreatic cancer might top the list.  We have been there.  Those moments, the dark days, are forever etched in our minds and hearts.  A legacy we would never have chosen...

Bad news.  It might be a financial disaster, a messy divorce, a devastating diagnosis, a lost child... it's the news that shutters a heart... It can color your days and stall your steps.

But what if it doesn't have to?  What if there's a way to live life best even in the midst of the bad?

He has been handed some bad news in his life.

In 2008, Neil's world fell apart, as he spiraled from a sudden divorce to the unexpected death of a close friend.

Dark colored his days and nights.  

He found a way to turn his gaze from the grief he was experiencing to the joys, however small, he encountered in each day.

Out of his intentionality a movement of sorts was born.  Neil began recording his experience at 1000 Awesome Things... finding joy and hope in sweet moments, such as 

snow days

sleeping in new bedsheets

roasting the perfect marshmallow

hanging your hand out the window of a car

the smell of rain on a hot sidewalk

... for 1,000 days, Neil jotted down 1 awesome thing every day, no matter how big or small... as a way to jog the heart into seeing the good, the sweet and the hope even in the midst of the bad.

In 2010, Neil gave his first TED talk.  It's only 17 minutes long, but it sure struck a chord for me.  Perhaps you might find the hope in his story too... 

The 3 A's of Awesome...  A new way to approach living life well with intentionality.

If you're here, my guess is that you've had bad news at some point.  You're looking for hope, for life, for joy... for a way out of the dark.

Neil offers a little encouragement as we travel these sometimes dark and stormy roads.

Change how you think... Determine to see the small pleasures in life... Choose to find the blessing intentionally... 

Live right now...this moment... Make it count.  

After all, it might be all we have.

Graced to Love you,

Always,

Jane

The Fight Continues...

 Pancreatic Cancer is no respecter of persons...

It does not matter your social rank, your wealth, your knowledge... Pancreatic Cancer is a ravenous malignancy leaving trails of destruction, distress and suffering in its wake.

This week past we saw the trail of metastatic pancreatic cancer lead to the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network shared the following on their website shortly after news of her passing:

"The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PANCAN) is determined to continue fighting for progress for patients so that more people have a chance at longer survival.

'Justic Ginsburg's death is tragic, and it is yet another push for PanCAN to continue fighting for more research and better treatment options for all patients,' said PanCAN President and CEO Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA. 'Though the statistics are grim, there is reason to hope.  There is a growing pancreatic cancer scientific community, many new clinical trials that could lead to new treatment options, and information and resources for patients and families fighting this disease.' "

Justice Ginsburg's legacy is captured in her own words, and they seem aptly fitting here, in this place, in this fight for healing:

"Fight for the things that you care about,
but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
    ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Yes, the Fight Continues... we will never stop pounding the doors of Heaven until the cure for this cancer's devastation and suffering is found.

We stand strong in the gap for those in the battle.  The days are numbered for Pancreatic Cancer's spread of distress, pain and heartache. 

Leaning into the Fight this day,

Always,

Jane

Learning to Make the Moments Matter