Tonight was J's 6th grade band concert. He plays the alto saxophone. It was a typical middle school band concert. They managed to play together. There were only a few times when the band was supposed to be silent, but one person took an impromptu solo. There was a fun song played by all three grades about the revenge of the dust bunnies, with a live vacuum cleaner at the end. They performed in their gym and had the performing band in the center, and the two sitting bands were in the back of the room seated in chairs. J fidgeted like a 6th grader. He whispered to classmates while other bands were performing. He couldn't stop talking about how much fun the evening was.
Earlier today he went to his check-up with the oncologist. This was his check-up one year out from treatment. The actual anniversary of his last treatment was on Tuesday of this week. This is a happy milestone. If this type of lymphoma recurs, it recurs early, and rarely after a year. He will get scanned at his next appointment in June. We hope to again see that all is well.
After his appointment we went out for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. He had a pulled pork sandwich. He tried a wing that was too hot for his taste and he had already ran out of water. Poor guy. The waitress was pretty quick, but I had to give up some of my water to him before she returned with more. We didn't have time for dessert there, but tonight after the concert we enjoyed peanut butter bars, one of his favorite desserts (as well as one of mine). Yum. Seriously delicious.
He reads books all the time. Before school while eating his breakfast. The entire drive to and from the children's hospital. If he's not reading, there is a good chance he is building things with Legos or trying to sneak some screen time on Clash of Clans. All in all, if you didn't know his story, you would never have reason to suspect that he was hospital bound a year ago being treated for lymphoma.
We often think of all the help we received from family, friends, and complete strangers. All the meals, cards, and prayers offered on his behalf. As stressful as it was, it was nice to see all the good that people are capable of, if we just give them an opportunity to help. One of my more treasured lessons is that many people truly want to help, and I should let them. Life isn't really about how well I can manage things on my own anyway.
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