Put through the cheese grater

Go Packers!

You will either cheer or jeer that first statement but it doesn' t matter to me. I have bled green and gold since birth. My father and mother raised two children for which they wished a three simple things: health, happiness and devotion to the Green Bay Packers. Often, the second thing was dependent upon how well the thirst thing was doing. Needless to say, their daughter is very, very happy this year.

What is so sweet about this year's trek to the Super Bowl is seeing Aaron Rogers shine. Brett (boom-boom) Favre did his best to not help Aaron learn anything from him when they were teammates in Green Bay. It sure hasn't kept Aaron down.

I think it is a case of character. They both have a lot of talent. Brett (boom-boom) Favre has accomplished amazing things. However, his ego has taken up so much room on the field there is no room for the rest of his team.

I was touched when I learned recently that Aaron Rogers took a bunch of less privileged kids out to bowl and to eat and even convinced some of his Packer teammates to come along. He did it with his own money and without the press or the hype. That is class.

Whatever happens on February 6th (and you all know what I hope will happen) I am proud of my team. But guess what, I am always proud of my team.

I HATE CANCER.

I hate cancer. There I said it. It is sort of freeing - like saying the name Voldemort in the last book of JK Rowlings Harry Potter series. No one wants Voldemort in their lives the same way no one wants cancer. At least Voldemort was defeated and you can close the book and have done with him. Cancer is not that simple.

I spent my evening driving to a sweet little town called Osseo, Minnesota to attend the final viewing of the mother of a very dear friend of mine. She died from cancer this past Sunday. She was a beautiful person.

I really hate cancer. It is sneaky and it is persistent and unpredictably predictable. It scares us and it takes away the people we love. We at the funeral home spent tonight, not acknowledging the death cancer brought to this dear family, but honoring the life of the woman it claimed. Cancer cannot take that away. It cannot defeat the precious memories this mother of two created, nor can it eradicate the deep feelings in the many, many hearts she touched. That will always be our victory over cancer.

However, cancer's nasty way of stealing precious lives from this earth does leave behind one thing. It leaves behind the family and friends who are hurting from the loss. It is hard to witness people we love experiencing such sadness. It is this part of cancer that may, in some ways, be most cruel.

I try to understand why things like this happen. I am a religious woman so I pray about it, but I am not so deep that I can puzzle this out to anyone's satisfaction. I will say that this is the sharpest reminder to say the kind word, hold the empty hand, mend the past wrongs and just be there for those around us. Life is too damn short.