It’s probably not the smartest thing to do – disowning the moniker of “Wise Woman.” However, today I feel out of step with the rest of the world. Last night my daughter Caitlin came home and told us that a girl on her basketball team was just diagnosed with cancer. Caitlin had been texting her teammate last week while she was at the hospital for tests for her persistent cough. This diagnosis came out of left field.

Now all I can think about is this girl with gorgous, long red hair, which will be gone in a few weeks because of chemo. This girl who befriended my daughter (a new kid on the team), works hard in practice, and pulls down rebound after rebound during the games. This 16-year old who’s no longer wrestling with the question of whether to send a carnation during 5th period on Valentine’s Day to the boy she likes, but, instead, “Why me?!?”

I didn’t feel so wise when my daughter hugged me and asked how could this happen. I have no answers. It just makes me very, very sad.