September 06, 2006

Anniversary

Melinda got a call from the Sears portrait studio a few weeks back asking if we wanted to schedule Ben to get pictures done for his seventh birthday. It's taken some practice, but we're both getting good at having the "Ben died of cancer last March" conversation with strangers. Melinda's had much more practice than I have and I don't envy her having to answer another one. They called back last week letting us know that they've released the copyrights on all of Ben's pictures and that they've burned a CD with his last session for us. It's a fairly small gesture as I've never thought twice about the copyrights on the pictures we've had done there, but it did feel good. It's nice to see people and companies doing little things that have a big impact on the lives of others. And I don't mind giving them a little positive PR for it.
 
I've been reflecting on the events of the past year as we approach the anniversary of Ben's diagnosis. The painful memories still overpower me at times, but I'm also starting to realize some of the little things that had a huge impact on us. We had so many moments of joy as a family that would have been impossible without the support of so many people. We were carried through by the cards, emails, meals, fund raisers and unending love of our community.
 
I'm also reminded of the greatest gift that we received - the gift of time from the folks at Requisite. The four months of paid leave that they gave me exceed any legal requirements and tipped the scales of generosity. I am grateful for everyday that I spent with Ben; for every trip to the hospital for treatment; and for the ability to drop everything that mattered on Sept. 7th and refocus my life on Ben and my family. None of our adventures and experiences would have been possible without their gift.
 
It's hard facing the anniversary of the worst day of my life, but I am looking forward to the other anniversaries that will come up as well. The anniversary of Ben's last day of decadron and radiation treatment; our trips to Las Vegas and San Diego; Ben's "unbirthday party" and all of the other little events that brought joy to our time with him.
Posted by Dean Steadman at 09:50:40 | Permanent Link | Comments (12) |

September 01, 2006

New Job, Again

GHX just wasn't my style and I was feeling a fair amount of stress with my decision to work there. So I quit and got on board at Medium, the small startup in Boulder. I've been there a few days already and feel much better. It'll be a challenge dealing with the commitment required for a startup, but it's so nice being busy doing something you love.

Medium is building a web application to enable interaction and collaboration between people while working on-line. My experiences in writing this blog and interacting on-line with other families dealing with pediatric cancers were tremendous assets for me in landing this position. I never imagined that I'd be detailing my experiences in dealing with Ben's cancer during a job interview. I was also amazed at how well the folks at Medium responded to it. They asked all the right questions and didn't offer any offending platitudes. I've been very lucky to work with quality folks in the past and this job is off on the right foot.

Posted by Dean Steadman at 21:00:09 | Permanent Link | Comments (2) |