The Five-Year Cure

When a person has battled cancer and has gone cancer-free for five years, the doctors say "you're cured".

I have a theory that all life's traumatic events also have a five-year cure rate.

When my head-on car collision occured back in 1998 I wondered if I would ever learn to love driving again. In 2003 (five years after the wreck) I found that, finally, I did once again love to drive for hours and hours.

John had two layoffs in quick succession, one lasting almost a year. He has one more year to go for a complete cure. But he's getting there.

Something I just realized this year, for Steve who was extremely traumatized after the shooting death of a classmate (November 2002 - his 4th grade year), it has now been over five years since this terrible event and I am almost convinced that Steve has been "cured" from his heartache. This 9th grade year for him, if I could describe it in one word, "flight". He's taken off. He's on his way. He's a young man with aspirations, amazing abilities, and just plain awesome-ness. He's earned some respect as a performer, singer and friend. He's managed to dig himself out of a grade snafu and even enjoy some of his core classes.

Is he cured? Perhaps. Will he ever forget his friend? No, never.