Anyone who reads my column knows I’m always looking for the bright side in a challenge and the lesson that can be learned. Unfortunately, sometimes there is no bright side for us, and the lesson is merely that life is too short and too bittersweet.
For My Sister, Susan
When I left home for graduate school thirty years ago, my sister asked to join me so she could look for a better job in a new city. Getting an apartment together was temporary, as was our upgrade to a house for more space – but our relationship grew as we grew older, and eventually we could not fathom “settling” on other relationships that brought us less joy and less comfort. Instead, we had many outstanding times together, and we expected to have many more.
As I have written here, my sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the spring of 2022. In the months since, I have shared some tales of our journey – always looking for the bright spots, even as that path became more difficult. Now, as I write this, I am hoping that these will be the hardest days of my life and there will be none harder. As with all of our life choices, we have remained independent and rely only on each other, so I alone have cared for her at home in the final weeks as the cancer wins.
For those looking for the bright spot and/or the lesson from me this month, please let it be this – tell someone that you love them, right now, while you have the chance. Your work obligations really will wait – and if they can’t, then maybe they are the wrong obligations on which to build your life.
Susan C. Stamm passed away on December 29 from ovarian cancer. Forever humble and unassuming, Susan always put the needs of others above her own. She is survived by her older sister Christine and her little sister Anna. Memorial donations may be made on her behalf to The Peregrine Fund in Boise, ID.