I had a conversation with a family member tonight. We talked about how many blessings there are in her life and how it is only recently (the past couple of months) that she has really begun to take them in for all they are worth.

Every nuance, every tiny point of light, every moment. Not that she has not always appreciated everything in her life. Her husband and son, her home, her work, etc. . .

But it is different now. She told me tonight, 'Just today, as I was standing outside I heard the sound of a fountain and I just said ahhhhhh.'

Why is she noticing this now, and why does it matter to you? Because she could be you, and there is no time like the present to smell the roses.

She has a new found, deep gratitude for life. Because for the past two years she has been dealing with health challenges that no one knew how to address, as they gave her test after test.

Finally, in June of this year, one of her doctors asked the right questions and gave her the right tests. An enhanced CAT Scan, then A PET scan.

The results of these tests, she was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor http://www.braintumor.org/GeneralMenu/ She has been told it is inoperable.

It's very important to note here that there are many kinds of brain tumors and many are not malignant, and even those that are can be treated successfully leading to a full recovery.

She is on so many medications that she has had to write them down to keep track of them all. Radiation therapy includes having to lie on a table with a cage like thing that is bolted to the table so that you don't move while they beam radiation. It includes nausea, vomiting, and a host of other bodily functions that you likely do not want to hear about.

Her long hair began falling out at about week three and a half or so and she had the rest cut recently before it fell out too.

She loves smiley faces so I bought her a polar fleece cap and embroidered a smiley face on it for her and sent it to her. She loves it and when her doctor told her she needs to smile she said I am, I have a hat to remind me.

Her days are up and down and up again.

She will finish up seven and a half weeks of radiation therapy next week, the day before Thanksgiving, and she feels that is the best Thanksgiving present anyone could ever give her.

Throughout all of this, she has taken the high road and she continues to do so. She will not give up and plans to be around to watch her son have children and to play with her great nieces and nephews.

This past weekend her husband was admitted to the hospital with chest pain. She drove him there. After they ran tests and determined the cause he stayed in the hospital a couple of days and you know what they did? They sat together watching cable access comedy movies and laughed more than they have in ages. Someone asked her how they could be laughing like that when he was in the hospital and she had cancer.

And she said. ‘Laughter is the BEST medicine.’

She told me tonight, 'Since I have been off from work for the past month with radiation, I have had a lot of time to think and this (the cancer) is a blessing'. She said, ‘You have to stop and smell the flowers. The little things (that stress you) do not matter.’

And the little things that do matter, well from what I can tell in our conversations, it's the fountains, and the flowers, and spending time with your husband and son and doing all of those things that you kept putting off because there will be time.

Her doctor won't give her a time frame and I am glad about that. He said, 'I have had patients who have lived a year, and I have had patients who have lived 20 (or more). I won't give you a time that you then live up to'.

In her mind, and in mine, we are planning for old age and retirement. We had an uncle once and he was told he would live for six months. It was twenty years before he left this planet.

She plans to do that or better, much better.

In the meantime, my understanding is that the order of business is smelling the flowers, listening to fountains and the like, and really being present to life.

Have you smelled the roses today?

Rob challenged us as coaches to be more real. http://www.peoplejam.com/node/3029 What a great challenge.

I've done my best to be as real as I know how to be and to that end, I'm inviting you to do the same.

This is a topic that may be very painful for some. I've had my moments with this I can tell you.

Can you relate to this? Has your heart been touched? What are your blessings? Can you imagine how your own story and experiences might help your heart, and someone else’s, through sharing your story. I know I would be grateful to hear about it.

Community is powerful, and community is healing. Where better to share your story and benefit from the wisdom of others.

Her story, our story as family, is powerfully about wellness, because even in the face of a life threatening illness, you can choose wellness. You can choose to be fully present and live your best life.

Tell me how you are living yours. . .