So Incredibly Thankful

It's hard to ignore my surroundings and the last couple of incredible days I've had leading up to this Thanksgiving holiday. I'm in my hotel room with Will and my mom in stunningly beautiful Maui, overlooking our resort's gorgeous pool and the Pacific Ocean. The sun is shining, the waves are crashing, and my Duke Blue Devils are basking in the glory of a Maui Invitational Title. 

Over the last three days, I've watched some incredible Duke basketball, culminating in last night's thrilling victory over Kansas for the Championship. Duke has never lost in the Maui Invitational -- our record is 15-0 and this was our fifth title -- but securing that win last night was not easy. The only guarantee of victory came with 20 seconds left in the game, when one of my favorite guys, Tyler Thornton, hit an improbable three right at the end of our shot clock. The scene was unbelievable: a high school-sized gym erupting with a massive roar of cheering and applause, the entire Duke bench jumping up and down, and yours truly soaking all of it in with arms outstretched, hands clenched in fists, head raised in triumph to the heavens where the basketball gods live, and a big smile. There are few other things as satisfying as Duke basketball glory, and I know that my fellow Cameron Crazies would wholeheartedly agree with me.

It wasn't just the basketball that made these days spectacular. We've had fun by the pool, on the water slide, at the tennis court, on the golf course, and in the gym. It's Maui -- it's pretty hard not to have an incredible time.

It's easy to be thankful for days like these. It's easy to be thankful for friends and family like mine. It's easy to be thankful for the happiness that infuses my days. Really, really easy.

But I'm also thankful for the tougher stuff.

The two weeks I spent in Washington Hospital Center were the toughest of my life, but I am more thankful for those two weeks than any others of my life. The love and support I felt from my family and friends was so incredibly palpable. The way that my mom, dad, and Will took care of me -- staying up all night with me, helping me out of my hospital bed, walking along those hospital halls with me, massaging my arms and hands and feet and head, giving me kisses and hugs -- is unforgettable to me, and some of the most precious moments I've ever had with them. I'm almost disappointed that we don't get to do it again this year, but not that disappointed. ;)

I'm also thankful for my chemo days, when Dr. Lenz and  I charge, guns blazing, into this fight with cancer. Again, my crew makes its presence felt in a big way -- I get emails all day long from friends and family wishing me well and pumping me up even more for treatment. In the days that follow, as I recover and recharge, it's my "three nurses" to the rescue again --  making or retrieving any meal I ask for no matter how inconvenient the request may be, watching whatever scary movie or Unsolved Mysteries episode I want to see (even if I've watched it a million times), and lovingly ensuring that I'm as comfortable as humanly possible. 

I'm thankful for my busy schedule, which is a challenge for even this multi-tasker. Balancing my work at O'Melveny with The WunderGlo Foundation requires a lot of gear-shifting, but the team I have at the firm and at the Foundation give me all the support I need to do my jobs well. I am so grateful for my O'Melveny family and for everything the firm has done for me. I am also so grateful to my fellow Directors of The WunderGlo Foundation (Aymee and Timmy) for making sure that our organization is off to a truly impressive start...and for keeping me sane throughout all of it.

It's true that most people haven't had to face down as many challenges as I have. Some people feel sorry for what I've had to go through in these cancer-killing adventures, and what I'm still going through even while I forge ahead with my legal and non-profit careers. But nobody should. I doubt that many people are lucky enough to feel an outpouring of love, support, and friendship as completely and beautifully as I have. I savor each morsel of my life and I live each moment -- even the challenging ones -- deeply steeped in gratitude. I could not be more grateful for every single thing in my life...including my cancer diagnosis, and all the ways my cancer-killing adventures have enhanced my existence and made me a better person.

It's time for this cancer warrior to hit the gym and embrace one last day in Maui. To you, dear readers, I wish you a wonderful, beautiful, super-HD Thanksgiving holiday.