Do It Today



We hear it all the time—don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. It’s the Type A mantra that I know all too well. It took on new meaning for JJ, a young woman I met as she waited to see her oncologist team.

She told me her cancer came on like a wildfire—making reference to the massive fires consuming Eastern Washington.  Looking back she admits she missed some symptoms. After treatment failed, her doctors offered some trial therapies.

JJ decided to lay her cards down and push away from the table. If the game was nearly up, why keep taking chances that tomorrow will be better—especially while you have today?





JJ purposely didn’t ask how much time she had left, or what she faced. She had today and was living life on purpose. Her new mission was to thank every person who’d been part of her life.  She’d come in today to thank the medical team for their efforts. She wanted them to remember her smiling face.

Even though JJ was young, I suspect she’d had her share of disappointment, challenges, and bitterness. Cancer could easily bring all three. But she’s not wasting time on any of that. It just steals moments JJ never used to bother to count.




But now she does. Every moment matters. So her advice to me: Do It Today—you have time right now to text, to call, to love, to hold, to hug, to kiss, to give thanks for the day you have.

After saying goodbye to the cancer team, she smiled and waved at me, and walked out of the center—very much a woman with a mission of thanks. There are people she needs to text, to call, to love, to hold, to hug, to kiss, and a day to give thanks for.

But you know what I learned from JJ?  You don’t have to be dying to live this way.


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