Change of Pace

 



Normally, by the time May rolls around, Mark and I are thousands of miles from home on a 6 to 8 month adventure in our camper. Last year, after just such an adventure, we came home to discover the not so great news that the soft tissue sarcoma we’d battled two and a half years ago, in Mark’s leg, had returned in his lung. We felt pretty devastated for a while but after treatment and care, from his amazing team of doctors, we got a more positive report from the scan in April and immediately planned a short adventure. We can’t wander too far because of more tests in July but it feels good being on the road again.

We plan to meander through TN, NC, VA, West VA and KY. Our first stop is at Panther Creek State Park outside Morristown, TN. This is an amazing park with 17 hiking trails, 15 miles of mountain bike trails and a championship level disc golf course. Even if we only sit in our lawn chairs and admire the wildflowers while we are here, it’s nice being in a park with so much to see and do! We weren’t sure we’d have the opportunity to make another trip like this so we’re trying to really take notice of the small things.

After Mark’s initial cancer diagnosis, a friend shared the story of musician Warren Zevon’s response, in an interview with David Letterman, to finding out he had cancer. Knowing Zevons days were numbered, Letterman asked what he’d learned about life. Zevon simply replied, “enjoy every sandwich.”








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