I think about him every single day.

In my thoughts, I think back to the days when he would come to our house to visit.  He would come to lift Leroy’s spirits most days and on the days when he could tell Leroy just wasn’t up to talking, he would kind of sit on the couch and be there for him.

He would be the living, breathing definition of a friend.  There were never any demands, never any expectations, just his presence in the room to “be there” for Leroy.

You know, if you’ve gone through this cancer journey, the many times you heard the words “I’m there for you.”  “If you need anything at all, I’m there for you.”

Everyone means that but not all are able to actually “be there.”

This man was “there.”

So when he was diagnosed with a cancer that can not be stopped, this past July, my heart broke at the news.

Understanding that his cancer will take his life, he said to me, “I’m sorry I’m putting you through this again.”  The unselfish friend speaking from the heart, broke mine with those words.

His cancer is showing no mercy these days.  It has wasted no time spreading to places that cause pain and discomfort.  In five short months hope has shifted to a place where the most I can hope for is no more pain and peace with what looms in the shadows.

Now, I’m the one who can sit with him and “be there.”