Today is one.

And not just any “one,” its an important one.

Today we start the count. It is the third round of chemo and like everything with this experience we have no idea what to expect. There is no “new normal” over here, everything is dynamic and moving. Round three is a different cocktail. We have no idea how he will react. But it is not that uncertainty that makes “one” important, it is rather, what we will receive after. We will get our first scan since diagnosis. We will learn how the treatment is going and then go straight to surgery.

This is an important one.

A REALLY important one.

And it is not lost on me that today we start when many of you finish. 

Today is the first Friday in August. I’m sure you are skipping work and escaping. August, the month when everything slows down. The month to travel! The month to LIVE. 

But this August, we will be going into BATTLE. It is the month that we are most anxious about. It is also the month that no one is around. Even many of the doctors flee. “Nothing happens in August.” Well in my time, EVERYTHING happens in August. 

Turns out we have a leader for our battle, the ultimate warrior. Knowing that mom was at work these last two days, Jacob convinced everyone he knows to buy him a nerf gun and now he sits with an arsenal. He sits from his bed and shoots any intruder. He watches superhero movie after superhero movie. When I close my eyes out of being afraid, he leans in. He laughs at my fear. “It’s just pretend mom.”  He embraces August.

As you get ready to live up the last month of summer, I ask two things.

1. DO JUST THAT. Live it up! August 2nd of last year, Steve and I rented a red Vespa scooter and adventured to hidden beaches in Mallorca. We threw caution to the wind and lived each day like we were 17 years old. I pointed, he drove!
2.  As you live it up, please keep Jacob in your thoughts. When you see something awe-inspiring, make a mental note by placing Jacob there. Maybe he is 20 in this image, not a young boy. Maybe he is backpacking or doing hitchhiking as his stupid mom did. Picture him making mistakes that only a young adolescent can do, living fearlessly. Picture him with no cords, jumping into the water. Maybe he is even doing cliff dives.

Just place him with you.

So today is one, and an important one.