Courtship is going well, despite occasional bumps and bruises.

My girlfriend needs a compass, too, I think...

So let's see what I can do about that.

My dad had his last chemo treatment. He's scheduled to have the bottle removed today, putting an end to a long and difficult chapter of his fight with colon cancer. As I understand, there are still some tests in his future, and there's surgery to be scheduled, but then the worst will be behind us.

Looking back, while I may have been pretty cool on the surface, I've been deeply affected by this "cancer thing", having become sick more times in a few months than I usually do in a year. I've lost plenty of pounds, and gained a few back, but I'm still on the downward curve there.

But that's not "news" so much as an update on things that those of you who have read my journals already know.

The good news? I've been dating since early December. I'm deeply in love with this woman and am putting everything I can into growing our relationship, caring for her, and getting to know her. Sure, we've already had a few bumps on the way, but thusfar it's about as smooth a relationship as I could imagine. I'm a little bit anxious that something big is going to jump out and shake us up, but I handle such anxiety with careful preparation.

Further to that, I've begun the process of looking for a place to move to. I'm 27 and due to leave the nest. I'm hoping that amidst financial turmoil, that some great rental opportunities will reveal themselves as lessors who might be losing their clientele try to keep their market from drying up by offering lower, competitive prices. Maybe it will happen, maybe not, but I'm keeping an eye out for a bargain, particularly in the Brampton direction.

I've been on internet radio lately, too, as the DJ Korith show on KJSR.net every Wednesday evening at 8:00 PM...well, almost every Wednesday. Tonight's is off on account of the weather and a long, insane commute through it in the coming hours - but I've made the majority of my shows!

And lastly, I've been working on a "read the bible in a year" plan with my girlfriend. I'm lagging behind, but it's not too late to catch up! I should be back on track by the start of February.

And not Halloween, either.

Much of the household was ill on Saturday, and my dad undergoing chemotherapy did his best to avoid those afflicted. The illness was exhausting, destroying the appetite and causing vomiting and diarrhea, tiring my mother out. I managed to break through much of the illness in what I'd describe as a fevered trance. Not so much sleep - I was largely aware of my surroundings - but some deep, suppressed state susceptible to dreaming, anyway.

So, as my mother lay sick in bed on the top floor of the house, and I lay down to get some rest, I heard some knocking.

Not "front door" sort of knocking...it was definitely from the back of the house, and the backyard is gated off and locked up, so it's not like we had visitors.

I tried as I might to ignore it, but soon I heard a ghoulish echo calling for something that sounded vaguely like "help"

I couldn't ignore that. I snapped to full alertness, quickly dressed myself to check on my dad.

Two floors down, he'd fallen in the basement. He was exhausted, had taken a couple of sleeping pills and couldn't get up. My brother whom I passed on the way was confused, and apparently hadn't heard the calls for help.

I ended up calling 911. My dad was still responsive and eventually managed to leave the basement on his own power, but it proved difficult. He spent Saturday night back in the hospital, accompanied by my non-ill brother.

It turned out that his magnesium levels had plummeted, which led to the earliest signs that identified the colon cancer.

I must have heard my dad through the house's ventilation system, which connects my room to the bathroom where he fell. My brothers and I used it as a sort of intercom in our childhood. But my dad had nearly no voice at all when I got to him. He could speak, but not with any volume.

Still, this ended better than it might have. I'm glad I heard him when I did. I don't know if this qualifies for a "miracle" under the technical definitions, but as best as I can tell, God was in control of the whole situation, scary as it was.

So, the scoop since the last journal: My dad's had a sizeable portion of his colon removed, tests showed that the cancer managed to spread just a tiny bit, so he's undergoing aggressive chemotherapy to get it all out of his system. Down the line, some radiation treatment is going to be added to the mix.

In the meantime, my Nana (Dad's mom) had a stroke. As a consequence, she was numb down the entire left side of her body. She's recovering well at Oakville Trafalgar Hospital and undergoing rehabilitation. Sensation IS returning to her right side, so she's expected to make a full recovery. I've had the chance to visit her, and I've seen no evidence of any problems with the higher brain functions. She speaks as eloquently as ever, remembers as well as ever, and has her charming grandmotherish wits about her.

What else to say? Work is going well. The church has done a great job of showing my family support in our times of medical troubles. God is good, and what more could I ever ask?

Back in November, I had a dream that kind of freaked me out. The following is an exact quote of something that I recorded and shared with a good friend of mine:

/start of quote
In the second piece, I was walking home from The Wingery with some nice hot chicken wings to eat. The scenery was exactly as I might see it on an ordinary day, save for being brighter and more colourful. Then, upon arriving at home, there was an ambulance parked on the sidewalk right in front of the house. This concerned me, as it seemed that it would be for someone there. I rushed inside, and all the colour leaked out. The environment subtly shifted, with the inside of my home no longer recognizeable as a place I knew. I found my mother seated, weeping. She informed me that my dad was dead after a routine treatment of some sort. He had choked to death during the procedure somehow. There was a sensation of grief and shock more intense than anything I've experienced in my life. Worse than the deaths of my Mother's Father, Great Grandparents or pet by far. I dwelled on the question of whether I should go to work the next day.
/end of quote

My odd mind working as it does, the first part (a bit more personal) partly reassembled itself while I was driving back from dropping my brother and his fiancée off at a date. Then I realized what it was leading up to. I proceeded to bring up the whole thing that I shared on my computer...and there it was, in plain sight.

Precognition? Maybe. Oddly enough, realizing I'd dreamt about the whole thing months in advance is comforting to me; it's giving me a basis to tell my subconscious not to overreact in the face of uncertainty, while retaining an appropriate and serious mindset about the situation.

Of course, that's not the only piece of this sort of thing I've come across. Just earlier this week, a wonderful lady at my church who's moving found a Christmas card she'd intended to give to me. In it, she had written down a quick little prayer that I'd have strength to deal with whatever trials I encounter in the coming year. Sure, that might not be so unusual, but the timing of the lost card ended up with my reading it when I needed to, rather than losing it and forgetting the thoughtful encouragement...

In light of all that, can there be any doubt that God had his hands in this from the beginning?