Years after my son completed treatment for leukemia, I stood at the ocean shore as dusk descended with unexpected swiftness. Blackness blanketed the bay, and I felt the same fear and isolation I'd experienced that first fretful night in the hospital. I peered into the darkness, expecting the horizon to orient me, searching for the line demarcating sky and water, insight and perspective, when suddenly the waves surged up over my knees, throwing me off balance. In my determined effort to find a beacon, I'd forgotten to pay attention to the moment. (adapted, Standing at Water's Edge: A Cancer Nurse, Her Four-Year-Old Son and the Shifting Tides of Leukemia). It's easy to get wrapped up in [...]