Roller Coasters

I’ve been watching a bit of news over the past couple of days, trying to catch up on the goings-on in the world after being pleasantly out of touch for a week whilst basking in the warm sun of Cozumel, Mexico.

Among the items deemed of interest by the television news stations is the continued roller coaster ride of the financial markets. I’ve long been amazed at how the most innocuous event send a given company’s stock or those of one or more sectors soaring one day and then plummeting the next day. I’m amused (or bemused…or confused) by how the media uses words like “soaring” and “plummeting”, even when the change is on the order of 1% or less. It’s as if they are encouraging further volatility in order to enhance the story and justify their own existence. I laugh at how the act of reporting the news has become little more than speculation of something that has not yet occurred.

But I got to thinking about how our lives are often a roller coaster ride – the highs of welcoming a newborn child or experiencing success in a job; the lows of dealing with the death of a loved one or the struggle for direction in life.

My friend Jill has lived a lifetime of ups and downs over the past three years while living with breast cancer. A seemingly healthy thirtysomething mother of two young daughters, age 2 and 4 months, she was first diagnosed in January 2005 with Stage III breast cancer. Some of you may recall that I wrote about her on this blog last year. After being diagnosed, she endured chemotherapy, then learned the cancer had spread to her bones. She went through more chemo and radiation, which often brought her to tears. Her faith told her that the pain was proof that the treatments were working. She’s gone for weeks at a time with no discomfort. She’s seen the treatment chase off all traces of the cancer, only to have it return and force her to begin another round of chemo.

During this time, Jill has continued to lead a full and active life, enjoying every moment spent with her family and friends. Last fall, a PET scan showed no trace of cancer and was cause for celebration. Unfortunately, the reprieve was temporary. In December, a scan revealed yet another recurrence of the cancer. In the wake of this setback, she ultimately decided that she would take a leave of absence from her job to undergo her latest round of treatment.

Over the next six months, I’ll be thinking about Jill as I prepare for the 2008 Twin Cities Breast Cancer 3-Day. I’ll think about how the ups and downs of my life are like walking on a treadmill (or on the sidewalks of my neighborhood) compared to Jill’s life. And I’ll continue to laugh at the manner in which the pundits and analysts and so-called experts use our obsession with instantaneous information to try to turn everyday occurrences into cataclysmic events.

We all ride our own roller coasters. For most of us, the ride stops occasionally to allow us to get out and walk around for a while, perhaps get something to eat and enjoy a laugh or two with a friend before jumping back on again.

For some, however, the ride goes on and on and on…