A dog named Lucky

We've probably all heard this joke: A man says, "Have you seen my dog? He has brown fur. He's missing his right ear, is blind in one eye, and has three legs.  He answers to the name of Lucky." Clearly this is not an lol kind of joke but it might make you smile, shake your head, and think, "How lucky can he be?"

Well, how do we know? Maybe Lucky has the coziest of doggie beds to cuddle up in.  Maybe he has the tastiest of bones to gnaw on.  Perhaps he has all kinds of doggie pals who like to hang out with him. I'll bet he has the best-of-the-best when it comes to owners because he loves him despite his flaws. And just maybe Lucky has been around a bit to experience life and know that it could be worse, much worse.

Most people wouldn't call us lucky.  But Kevin and I feel very lucky.  We have so much going for us...

• Fingers crossed, so far so good on the radiation and chemo treatments.  Eight radiation treatments complete with no side effects, no pain, no headaches, and no nausea.  The radiation doctor even decreased Kevin's steroid dosage starting tomorrow.
• We are each still able to go to work and our employers are accommodating the varied schedules for treatments and doctor's appointments.
• We have quality care close by with friendly and talented health care professionals. (Okay, the one on 2nd floor isn't winning any Miss Congeniality awards yet but I haven't given up on her.)
• We have a warm house and a snuggly bed and tons of offers of people to bring us food.
  
• We have such tremendous support from family and friends who genuinely care. This is so abundantly evident by the cards and gifts and phone calls and visits and dinner invitations. So many times we are completely overwhelmed by the love we feel from you.
• We have prayer. So many of you have told us you are praying for us and asked if Kevin can be put on a prayer chain.  I know it doesn't work like this because God knows all, but I can imagine God saying, "What's up with this Kevin Hilby dude?  I've been hearing his name all the time."  Thank you and keep praying.
• Most of all, we feel lucky because we could have it worse. So much worse.

Please don't get me wrong. It's not all peaches and cream.  Social media constantly showcases what's going right in everyone's life.  But we all know there's more to the story and that awesome family picture posted on Facebook probably wasn't captured on the first take.  

Kevin gets frustrated when he can't do what he used to do the way he used to do it.  He'd love nothing more than to go snowmobiling or motorcycle riding. I get tired of feeling tired. We argue.  Mr. Positive is thankful for another day and I'm worried that another day has slipped away.  I don't want to get to the end and have him regret missing out on things he didn't get to do.  But Kevin has spent his whole life pleasing other people that he can't think of anything HE wants to do. Typical Kevin. How did I ever manage to snag a guy like him?

It would be easy to do a search for the word lucky in this post and replace it with blessed. We feel blessed.

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

John 1:16