A cool thing about being 50 years old is that there are a lot of years to look back on and appreciate. I find it helpful to realize that, although cancer absolutely defines my current life experience — and is in many ways similar to massive, complex project management initiatives I’ve worked on — it does not define my entire life.

I was up to other things in past years. Fun things! For example, 14 years ago, I lived in Manhattan, and one time hiked the length of it. Looking back at the post, it’s surprising that the free map app I used at the time is still around; the map of my route is still in there. So many other free apps I used back then have long since died. I’m actually surprised my old blogspot blog is still around (with a link to a posterous blog, that long since died).

So, I may indulge in nostalgia now and again, to add a little variety to this otherwise cancer-focused commentary.

As a child, I was an obsessive chronicler of life’s mundane moments. Seriously, I have hundreds of pages of journal entries describing meals, what I learned in school that day, who was present at youth group, etc. Fortunately, I also kept a dream journal, and that’s a lot more interesting to review.

Here’s the first entry from that journal — the old thing’s falling apart and I think I’ll periodically capture some of those dreams here, for posterity, before it completely disintegrates. Oct, 1985 — I was 11. Comic books in Mr. O’s class (Mr. Odegaard — a beloved teacher in Nooksack Elementary school at that time), and a huge boulder outside, with 50 kids climbing on it. A sense of impending danger.

And at the top of the page, an “S” and an “I” in little circles. Yes, yes, I’ve always loved to categorize. I had a little key in this journal which explains:

• N = nightmare (“the more scarier the nightmare, the more !’s there will be!”)
• I = interesting (“at that time”)
• G = good
• S = strange

That dream safely labeled as both “interesting” and “strange,” I was able to happily file it away. And glad I did!