Time goes by

 

Yesterday TC and I ventured Downtown to check out the rooftop bar and restaurant on the 28th floor of the newest Hilton adjacent to the Columbus Convention Center. 

We could look north up High St. and, from a different vantage point, we looked down on another rooftop that marked the beginning of our adventure together. Five years ago tomorrow -- July 10 -- we met for drinks and conversation at what was then called Juniper on the roof of the Smith Brothers Hardware Building on N. 4th St. It was a few weeks later that we recognized it as our first date.

I was six months into a new position as editorial page editor for The Dispatch. In my previous post as editor of Columbus CEO magazine, TC had been a freelancer on whom I relied heavily for display stories, and even a few less exciting assignments. We had known each other for years as journalism colleagues and our relationship had been mostly professional to that point.

When TC asked if I'd like to meet for drinks to celebrate my new job, neither of us expected it would lead to romance and marriage. We certainly had no crystal ball to forecast the fun we've had traveling and seeking out live music. And we couldn't foresee the challenges we faced as newlyweds in the middle of a global pandemic, the heartache of losing TC's best-dog-ever, Bubs, or the shocking return of my sarcoma, which had been long been relegated to the background of my life.

That's how time passes by -- in soaring rollercoaster highs and searingly painful lows, with lots of everyday treasures and trials in between. 

And time heals as well as reveals. The passing of four weeks now since my June 9 cancer surgery has brought slow but steady relief from the initial pain of multiple small incisions and the struggle to regain energy and lung capacity. I'm not all the way back yet, but each day brings more strength and less discomfort.

When we count our blessings, especially as our lives gain more perspective, time should always be among our top thanksgivings.