It’s been a wonderful week.  While I’ve been toiling away with educational demands, Maggie has been attending to various important tasks like garage cleaning, cooking breakfast quiche for me, visiting with friends, and lazing about.  The temporary respite from poisons flowing through her veins has freed her natural energy and again ignited that unmistakable Maggie spirit that glows abundantly from her core.

This coming weekend brings with it the journey to see the wizards at MD Anderson, the one where they likely tell us that the tumors are inoperable, that there’s little that can be done, that this is all just a sad, sad tragedy.  But it’s a quest that must be made, if but for no other reason than to belie any future feelings of regret.  A cold, quick douse of hard truth now is far less punishing than a lifetime of seeping regrets.  But I’d happily pay either price if it meant that we could rid ourselves of this harsh predicament we’re swimming in.

Her quest to see the wizard starts early Monday morning and culminates with her visit with Dr. Curley on Wednesday morning.  We both sincerely hope that he will surprise us with options we’ve been told were not available.

But we both have enjoyed this week, the essence of which can be wrapped up succinctly with something Maggie told me the other day as I climbed into bed late, late at night after finishing my studies.  She said “things now are so much better than when I was away at law school.  Every night we sleep in the same bed together and every morning, even though I don’t get up when you do, I do get to wake up to you kissing me good-bye as you head off to class.  We are together and that’s all that really matters.”

…And I wipe tears from my eyes as I read the words I just wrote.  Tears of happiness but also of deep sadness, knowing that one day those better days will be gone.