Suddenly

I love theater. I love it so much I actively participate as a playwright, director, producer, actor (rarely) and I've even done costumes. I love it. Consequently I sometimes watch The Actor's Studio on Bravo. You know, the show with James Lipton that Will Farrell so brilliantly spoofed on Saturday Night Live. I don't watch it all the time but I've watched it enough to become familiar with the questionnaire he gives the actors at the end. One of the questions is what's your favorite word. Mine is suddenly, has been for a long time. I like it because is sounds like what it means, those double d's thud in the middle of the word then give way to a gentle ending. Suddenly, your life changes. That gentle ending gives you time to look around and accept the differences. Suddenly. Most good plays are about that suddenly moment.

Suddenly, of course, isn't always good. Suddenly your hopes and dreams for your children can change. You go from idly thinking about what sport they will be good at to hoping they'll have a chance to grow up.

And then suddenly things can change again.

Ronnie's first follow-up MRI was Tuesday. We got the results on Wednesday. I don't think things could have gone any better. The tumor has shrunk, significantly, even more than that, spectacularly. All his doctors were in a good mood yesterday, the nurses too. Hearing and speech development were suddenly being discussed. All things that seem to be fine but let's make sure. Long term plans are back on the table. We're not done with chemo, far from it actually, but suddenly we're in the best possible place.