Dark Days II

Death and illness seem to be everywhere. In my 33 years I’ve never had death and illness so close, so often. My uncle just died this week. It’s going on a year that my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. The husband of a dear friend of mine has also been fighting cancer for some time now. Kristie’s grandmother, diagnosed with late stage lung cancer, has been given just a few months to live. In the summer a classmate’s mother died on the same day as my mother, who has been gone three years now.

To balance this, I have my students and step kids. Since they are young and have their whole lives ahead of them, they live in what has been dubbed “the oblivion of adolescents.” I envy them that. How this weekend’s second round football playoff game can seem to be the biggest event imaginable. How getting a date with a certain some one can keep you up all night. These are things that become trivial with age. But I say let the kids revel in this oblivion as long as they can. The ‘real’ world is just around the corner.

Recently in my college comp class (comprised of mostly seniors), we have begun discussing life after high school in the ‘real’ world. I marvel daily at their naive concerns about life ‘out there’ in the ‘real’ world. How do student loans work? What if I don’t know my major? Are finals really THAT bad? I don’t know how I’ll possibly be able to leave my friends behind . . . what concerns to have! I’d rather take a month worth of finals than deal with Dad’s chemo treatments.