525,600 MINUTES

If you've been reading my blog lately, you may have noticed that I've been writing a lot about the passage of time.  My blogs have described looking at the past, looking ahead to the future, as well as acknowledging important milestones in my life.  Today is another milestone for me.  Today is the one year anniversary of my breast cancer surgery.  In some ways, it seems like it has been longer than a year, and in other ways it seems like it just happened yesterday.  In any case, I am happy to be able to say that, a year later, I am doing well and looking forward to many healthy and happy years ahead of me.

All things considered, I had a pretty easy fight against cancer (if being diagnosed with cancer can ever be considered easy.)  I was fortunate that it was caught early and that it was small and had not spread.  Sometimes I wonder, as I've mentioned before, if this was just the opening act, and that some day there will be another cancer scene in the story of my life.  I know that I'm not alone in that feeling.  Many other women who have battled breast cancer have that same nagging worry.  Yet, I am optimistic that this will not occur, and that even if it did, I would get through it and be fine.  I've learned a lot in the past year about my own inner strength, as well as the importance of social support.

There is a song from the musical Rent called Seasons of Love which speaks to the passage of time over one year in life.  It includes the following lyrics:

525,600 minutes
525,000 moments so dear
525,600 minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
In 525,600 minutes
How do you measure, a year in the life?
How about love?

Recently, I attended a funeral in which friends of the deceased sang this song at the start of the service.  It seemed like the perfect addition to the rest of the service.  It captured the importance of all of the little moments in life that mark the passage of time.  How does one measure a year? The song suggests measuring it in love.  The fact that this song was included in the service highlights how much love this person had from those around her, through her healthy times, and through the times of her illness.

As I think about my own life over the past year, a few things have changed in my life, and many have stayed the same.  Yet, whether changes occurred in my relationships, or my career, or my family, or any other aspect in life, there is one thing that has changed for certain.  Me.  I'm a different person in some ways than I was a year ago.  My experiences, both good and bad, have changed who I am, and how I live my life.  In addition, I believe that having had a cancer diagnosis, and learning about and going through treatment, has made me a better psychologist. It has also made me a better mother, friend, and relative.  It has allowed me to understand things about myself and others that perhaps I did not understand as well before.  There have been ups and down and pain and loss, of course, but there has also been joy and strength.

Thank you to those of you have who traveled alongside me on my journey this past year, whether it was to offer friendship, or support, or to teach me something about life, or about myself.  As the song states, "It's time now, to sing out, though the story never ends. Let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends."  Today, on my surgery anniversary, I ask all of you to celebrate life, celebrate your friends and loved ones, and most importantly, celebrate you.  You have 525, 600 minutes in a year.  Make the most of every one of them!