August 6, 2021 - Am I Clear? Crystal.

One of my favorite movies is A Few Good Men. It is one of those movies that always grabs my attention. If it happens to be playing on a channel, it is a guarantee I will stop and watch for a bit. It sucks me in. There are many quotable scenes. Aaron Sorkin is a genius when it comes to dialogue. In a funny/odd way, Colonel Nathan Jessep reminds me of my father. Especially in the court room scene.

When Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee is thundering away at Jessup, and they are sparring back and forth, it feels like I have a front row seat - watching my father. I know, I know...there aren't enough blog pages to devote to my family dynamics growing up. And I will spare you (at least today). But it is ironic how different moments can bring memories to the forefront. And when A Few Good Men is on the screen, those are the memories that surface.

And, when I hear Jessup demanding, "Am I clear?" I always hear Caffrey respond quietly, "Crystal". So, as I sat in my oncologists office yesterday, I couldn't help myself.

When the doc came in, I asked "Am I clear?" He poetically responded, "Crystal". Just like a scene from the movie.

Nah! I'm kidding. He didn't really say it that way, but in my mind that is how it went down.

Net net, I can happily report that I received a clear brain scan. The scanxiety never goes away, but boy does it feel good when my Doc says my brain looks "clear". I'm good until the next scan. The side effects of the chemo are worth it, because the chemotherapy meds are working.

We haven't been watching a lot of movies this summer. The past month has flown by. It is hard to believe that summer is coming to a close. Many kids are returning to school this week and next. Mason is thankful that he doesn't go back until August 16th. He has one more week of summer break. Both Jamie and I are excited and apprehensive on his return. He will be a 6th grader, which means, he will be changing classes and keeping up with all of his homework assignments. Trust me, he is more interested in Lego's and Minecraft than he is in Algebra and World History.

In July, Mason and Jamie spent a week at a Boy Scout camp in the North Georgia mountains. My brother and I were able to join them the weekend before they left civilization. We were thankful to staying with our dear friends at their gorgeous cabin in the mountains. Throughout July, we had friends visit over the 4th and at the end of the month, so time did fly by. It kept is busy. It certainly helps to be focused on anything other than my health and how I am feeling.

Mason has discovered his love for filming video animations. He loves setting up his Lego's and creating a scene and filming a movie scene. He is dabbling with his own You Tube channel and beginning to post videos. They are pretty good and he is one funny little man. I love to see his passion grow. And speaking of growing, Mason is almost as tall as me. He is growing like a weed.

As I reflect on this summer, one thing is certain, I am thankful to be here. The year has brought so much loss, but we've also had a lot of love. Life truly marches on. My hope and prayer is to stick around for as long as possible. On that, I am Crystal Clear.