ChaseNKids!

This morning I took a walk with my midwife.

Of course, she isn't just my midwife, but a midwife to  many.... her husband told me this morning that she has birthed over a thousand babies.

Wow.

At first glance, I was shocked to see how tiny she had become, how frail. But that is just physical. Her beauty is still beyond magnificent, and her glory.... a glory that only resides in ones who are truly a sparkling amazement, resides in her still.

You don't see cancer.

You see a smile of someone who is living, not dying. As we hiked up the many hills, swatting the mosquitos, I held her hand thinking to myself that this was the hand of someone who got to touch the beginning of a life. How remarkable it is to try to grasp something that is beyond your thought process.... how goodness can be afflicted with something as evil as cancer.

It is unfair.

You don't hear her say those words, you don't even feel it when you walk next to her. You feel good as it is the only feeling you are capable of when you are fortunate enough to spend time with her.

There is something to be said for an optimistic attitude, but I think it goes beyond something so simple. There are just those certain individuals that were meant to enhance your life by merely their existence. It isn't something to really ponder and try to evaluate.... it just is.

And that is how it is when you know Shirley. Goodness in a bottle, sprinkled with a love of life, and eternal optimism. A wonderful package.

Truly... a wonderful person.