Good Times

Ain't we lucky we got 'em

I wanted to capture this exceptional moment in time. I feel good. Great actually. Actually great.

My wife Lisa continues to be my love, rock, support, and captain. The times we are sharing together are keeping me going and encouraging me to not just live, but to thrive. She found this new jam near our house, and her encouragement to play in front of people again has been transformative. I’m thankful my doctors helped me with my radiation-related aphasia, which previously prevented me from performing at the Duke 5k Fundraiser For Brain Cancer.

I’ve been blessed to have my brother visiting from California this last week. He’s more of a walker than I am, so we’ve been having great daily walks with the dogs, making sure I get my 10k steps every day. It’s great to talk with someone smarter than me about AI, technology, and of course, our kids.

I finished my monthly maintenance chemo this week, session 2. I’ll be doing this for the rest of my life. Because I take my chemo in pill form, I’m thankful for the flexibility it gives me—I was actually doing chemo while at the jam and the market. I was very happy not to have the crushing tiredness I experienced after session one. On top of the jam session on Tuesday (I played four songs and was honored to be asked back!), we did the Fuquay First Night Market on Friday with Lisa’s candles. I even sold three books! It was so nice seeing people we remembered from the summer markets. Doing these markets with Lisa is a special time. She’s talented and I’m proud of her work. Even though it started rainy, it was successful—they even had a real Sabrett hot dog stand, which I got to eat just before my last dose of the week.

I saw my friend Bobby at the jam and the market. His support since my surgery has been amazing. When I first started the trip, I couldn’t speak to my friends. It was too painful. I’m happy to speak to friends like Bobby and it’s been very helpful for me. I know it is probably more painful for my friends and family than for even me.

Beyond being my reason to get my steps in every day, my dogs are beyond comforting and love. They are the most amazing snuggle bugs in the world and am so grateful for them every single day.

Even though I’m not able to physically be there with them, I’m happy to help my kids with their challenges. Job trouble and minor car accidents are serious when they are happening to you, but I’m happy to walk with them and understand that, in the grand scheme of things, these are not terrible problems.

My colleagues at Duke have been incredibly supportive and collaborative; it means the world to work alongside these amazing people. I have several exciting projects and some cool presentations this month. In the meantime, I am writing a lot working hard to help communicate the fire hose of new information hitting us every single day. Work has been a driving force in making me feel like I’m making a difference—and in the little way that I can, I truly feel that I am.

We finally found an amazing therapist who has been key to allowing me to function and thrive. Lisa encouraged me to find the right person—it took five tries in the last three months—and I’m grateful for the support.

The biggest gift I’m still working on every minute is staying focused on the present. We started this journey saying, “We just don’t know.” And even though I still “kinda know,” I’m not letting that take away these good days. I think like I’m on bonus time right now. And while none of us know where we’re going to “end up,” I think everyone is really on bonus time.

I’m happy to be with you during this moment.