Sorry for the length of silence between posts. We’re trying our best to avoid adding to the volume of clickbait and fake news circulating the Internet these days, and let’s be honest, reading, “Cathy woke up. Cathy dominated the day. Cathy went to sleep” day-in and day-out gets a little boring after a while regardless of the underlying amazement those words carry. Instead, we want to make sure we’re focusing on meaty updates. And boy, is this one sure a genetically-enhanced-black-angus kind of update (apologies to any vegetarians reading this).

Yesterday, the Cubs kicked off what will prove to be their second consecutive championship season with a banner raising and home opener at Wrigley. Wrigley has a special, almost religious, signficance to me. My grandpa grew up blocks away, where as a kid he would walk to the stadium, buy a ticket for 10 cents, and get that money refunded if he stayed after the game ended to help clean the bleachers. He was in attendance when the Cubs last made the World Series. In 1945. His first date with my grandma? Wrigley Field. He passed this love down to my dad, who passed it down to me. The first (and unfortunately, last) beer I ever bought my dad? Purchased at an Old Style beer stand on the 200 level concourse at Wrigley Field. My dad didn’t get to witness a Cubs World Series win. But my grandpa did. After 91 years of waiting. Just in time too. He passed less than three weeks later. Life is circular though, and now I’m the one who lives walking distance from Wrigley Field. Although, I pay quite a bit more than 10 cents to attend games.

It’s with this backdrop that I sat in the bleachers last night, surveying the place that has so much personal history and meaning, waiting for a team – called the CUBS, whose starting pitcher (Jon Lester) and All-Star first baseman (Anthony Rizzo) both beat Lympoma – to raise a banner – that serves as a visual reminder of triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds – when I felt my phone vibrate with the following text:

That’s right folks: a visual, real life artifact of progress! Cathy’s scans were done a week ago and while we didn’t expect a readout until her next appointment, the good news came early. We’ll find out more details on Thursday when we meet with the doctor and when Cathy starts round 3, but we know the treatment is working! While we still have a little work to do to fully raise our championship banner, we got a glimpse of Lymphoma’s flag yesterday, and from here it looks white.

Moments before receiving a most welcomed text