As the title of this post indicates, it's been an emotional roller coaster for our family lately, between health concerns and life milestones. At the beginning of last week, my Dad told me that was stopping treatment for his bone cancer and entering hospice care. The treatments were becoming less and less effective and producing more and more side effects. He is 87 and satisfied that he has had a long, happy life, but he is now over feeling exhausted all the time. We of course respect his decision, but it is still very hard to accept, especially for me, since I lost mom just this past November. I had just seen my dad at Easter, but I was eager to see him again since there was a lot of other family around. Luckily, Marcus was at a good point in his chemo cycle last week, so I traveled to see my dad to tell him how much I love him and appreciate all he has done for me. We also enjoyed an in-home music concert of songs he used to enjoy with my mom, thanks to my aunt who hired the pianist. It's been hard, but I keep reminding myself how lucky I am to have had him so long and to have this opportunity to say goodbye. 

I came back to Decatur last Saturday, just in time for two big events. First, it was Scott's Swedish school graduation, after 10 years of attending classes every other Sunday. We - and the Swedish relatives who saw the photos on Facebook - are so proud of him. And Marcus and I teared up at the end of the ceremony when we placed Marcus' high school graduation hat on Scott's head. 

Sunday was also Marcus' birthday - not a typical milestone birthday - but the end of an unimaginably tough year. It was this time last year when Marcus started experiencing symptoms of what we would soon discover was from cancer in his brain. Two hospital visits, one surgery, and many tests, doctor visits, and treatments later, he is still here, thank God and the ongoing treatment seems to be keeping the cancer in check. Further, we found out yesterday that he is still gaining weight! To keep the positive momentum going, we celebrated Marcus' birthday by going out to dinner at Paolino, his favorite local Italian restaurant:)

And now, we approach this weekend looking forward to another family milestone. I will represent our family at my nephew's college graduation (Scott & Marcus will be at a soccer tournament). All college graduations are significant of course, but this one is very special to me, as I know that this "kid" that I watched grow up experienced some incredible challenges during his college years and, not only is his graduating, he is graduating with honors and a job lined up in Boston. The long drive to Durham will be so worth it. I will also see a dear college friend while I'm there and celebrate her new job, after months without one. 

All of this is happening in our lives while the country we live in and many people we know and don't know are in crisis. This weighs on our minds and we want to help. I am off in June and July, so feel free to reach out if you need anything. I hope that you all taking care of yourselves, doing what you can, and experiencing some happy moments like we are.  An emotional time indeed.