Today is a day that always holds significance dear to my heart. It is the anniversary of the day that America lost its conscience as result of the horrible Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. I have made my feelings known numerous times on that subject. If you know me at all you know that is one thing that upsets me very easily.However, last year, January 22nd took on a new meaning in my life. That was the day my world came unglued as my family and I found out that my dad was diagnosed with leukemia. It is still very hard for me to write about this. Even now, it brings tears to my eyes.When my dad told us, immediately my mom and my sisters started crying. I, on the other hand, was rendered speechless. It knocked the air out of me and for several hours I could barely put together a complete sentence (if you talked to me that night, you know exactly what I mean). Unfortunately for the trashcan, my motor skills were still intact and I laid a beating into it like you wouldn’t believe. I’m fairly certain Jet Li would be proud of the dropkick I landed on it. Two days later, the 24th, was my birthday. Except it did not feel like a birthday. How do you celebrate your birthday when you find out your father, your best friend, will have to fight for his life? (For that matter, how did my dad celebrate his last birthday knowing full well it was probably his last?) If I live to be 108, I will never have another birthday as sad as my 23rd was. I remember people calling me on my birthday and I assume that they had been informed of my dad’s cancer and were calling to give me some words of comfort. It blew my mind, instead, when people wished me happy birthday. In the light of everything that had happened the last two days, I had completely forgotten my own birthday.I have felt sad before when the Astros lose or when I make a bad grade on a paper, but tell me what adjectives to use when you find out your dad has blood cancer. I really did not have any desire to actually have a birthday party, but my dad would not hear of it. In typical Jimmy Galanos fashion, he gave a 150% effort and made my birthday special, despite the spirit that everyone was in. Do I really even need to tell you what I wished for when I blew out the candles? That is something to be proud of. If a man who is sick, forgets his own problems for the love of others, what do we really have to complain about? Enjoy your life, enjoy your health, your family and friends, and make each day count the best you can. This year, on my birthday, the first without my beloved father, I do not wish for the greatest birthday ever. I will settle for adjectives like good, decent, and ok. Whatever happens, I am reminded of some of the last words of advice my father gave me, words that will forever be burned into my mind and my heart: “YOU’LL MAKE DO.”
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