Brain cancer is...

...humbling.

In addition to the all the humbling realizations of the physicality of GBM (Speaking takes effort! Hair is coming out in clumps!), equally humbling is the position in which it has placed us as the focus of so much love.  We are in our second month since Darrell's diagnosis, and we are in such awe of how you all continue to give of yourselves to support Darrell.  We truly are humbled by how much of your lives you are giving to Darrell and his family. 

I don't know how to talk about it without putting people on the spot for their many expressions of faith, care, and selflessness.  It makes us feel very small.  It turns out there's another kind of wave:  The wave that rushes up to support us in every sort of way.  I don't know how to say anything other than we are completely appreciative of all the things you think to do even when we have no answer to the question, "How can I help?" 

I know I run a huge risk in mentioning just some of the things that astound us without mentioning them all.  But maybe you'll forgive us for giving just a subset of those things and, in your mind, multiply the items on the list to get a sense of the enormity of love and support that surround us.

We're academics, so let's take a representative sample.  A time sample seems appropriate.  Here's what people did in just the last three days (Friday-Sunday):

People...

1. brought us homemade soup for lunch, and more vegetable substitute!  
2. took me out to coffee just to unwind a bit.
3. flew from far away and drove Friday night in Southland traffic to be with us.
4. came after painful medical appointments to be with us.
5. sent us cupcakes...on ice!
6. picked up our packages in our absence and watched over them, thank goodness keeping the bench press and cupcakes safe.
7. in our absence, came en masse to our house and took care of things I couldn't even hold in my brain.  You know those things you think about for 20 seconds and then forget when you walk away?  Our friends took care of those things.  They got the paint OFF the couch and ONTO the wall.  They planted some things and pulled out others.  They dusted the high spots and the low spots. They left us beautiful blooms and tasty treats.
8. sent us a gift card to El Torito for a great ending to a family weekend.

You can see why we are humbled.  As I say, this is just 3 days in the life of Team Darrell. You are allowing us to focus on all that is beautiful in life, including friendship. 

We know that giving requires sacrifice on your part. We know it costs money, time, and huge emotional investment.  We are humbled.  We love you.

Bonus content:  Here's our weekend in 30 seconds.