"You Must Hold Hands!"

Brain cancer is...

...just doing what we're told.

Above you see our favorite "park friends."  The term is in quotes because we love to see this couple, and we always stop and talk to them, but that's our only interaction.  When we started walking at the park after Darrell's diagnosis, they were already there.

A year ago, as the couple approached us, the woman grabbed our hands and clasped them together, holding them in place with a surprisingly strong grip.  She told us, "You must hold hands!"  It makes a marriage stronger and heals the heart.

Whenever we see them coming, we put my phone away, shift our cans of LaCroix to our outside hands, and grab each other's hands so that, by the time they see us, we have a good grip on each other and our wedded bliss is obvious to the observer.

Sure, we're sorry to admit it, but you try it.  Walking multiple miles holding hands isn't as easy as they make it look.

Today we accomplished our hand clasp just in time.  She stopped to congratulate us. (Phew that was close!)  She shared that she and her sweetheart have been walking through life, holding hands, for the past 65 years.

Okay, clearly their strategy is working.  We'll try harder.