Anticipation

Full transparency: Some of my blog ideas come from the strangest points of origin.  And others are just a germ of an idea that I let ruminate for a while (weeks, months) until I can surround that seed with enough dirt and fertilizer to make it grow into something (hopefully).  Case in point, this week's offering came from my fascination with the tagline (the line under the headline) - Coping with Hoping.  I wasn't even sure what it really meant, but I liked the way it sounded and was willing to give it time to find itself amidst the quagmire of my mind and my blogging.

We all have moments in our lives when things just don't quite work out the way we had planned or hoped.  I can assure you, having cancer wasn't something that I had been planning for or obviously hoping for.  I'm not suggesting that we all need to start thinking, preparing or worrying about it, but the fact is that more and more cancer touches all of us - directly or indirectly.  I've single-handedly added to the statistics by how my diagnosis has become a part of the lives of my family and sphere of friends.  I would like to get out from under the yoke of one of the few incurable (though NOT terminal) cancers. This ox can pull the wagon of life, but I wouldn't mind if it were just a little bit lighter.

While I was looking for a new job over the past 12 months, I was coping with the hope that each interview (all 100+ of them) would lead me to the next full-time gig.  As grandfatherhood came upon me, I was coping with the hope that the deliveries would all work out (ten fingers, ten toes, etc).  With each tick of the clock, I cope with the hope that my family will continue to stay healthy and wealthy (relatively) and wise.  And now as I watch the advancements unfold in treatment alternatives for Multiple Myeloma (somewhat from the inside in my catbird seat within the pharmaceutical marketing industry), I cope with the hope that a "Cure" is within reach and my yoke can be lifted.  Coping with my medical regimen burden is truly not that onerous, and my hoping (my anticipation) is not in any way anxiety provoking - but it is on my radar of things I would like to see happen (oh, it will - they are that close, and my MM is that well controlled).  In the meantime, I continue coping with hoping for "the Cure," without letting the timeframe required harsh my mellow.

PS: The Canswer Man received no compensation for this week’s overt product placement