Fighting for Uncle Joel

There are times when taking the wheel and hitting the gas on my aforementioned goals takes a back seat to circumstances far more pressing. This is one of them.

Not much longer after I had made the pronouncement to hit the reset button and recommit to staying focused on what matters most in life, I was reminded that all of it gets trumped by life itself.

Earlier this week, my Uncle Joel, my mother's brother, one of my favorite and entertaining all-time relatives, was diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer. One of the wittiest people I know and perhaps the closest thing to a father figure I've had since my own passed away of cancer himself, Joel has been the quintessential patriarch in his home, for years supporting his two children and serving as primary caretaker for his wife, my Aunt Judy, who suffers from Multiple Scleroris.

Now it's he who needs to be taken care of and he who needs to be put in good spirits. And all of us are struggling with this role reversal. And none of it makes any sense.

I'll save the existential ranting for another day. But for now, I know that words matter. And I, as well as the rest of my family, can use all the words of encouragement we can get.

But more importantly, Joel can. He's in for the fight of his life, yet that's the only fight that matters.

Here he is with my daughter Kya last summer. I so wish that he'll somehow find a way to stick around long enough for her to love him the way I do.