This is a heavy one for me. It poured out of me and onto the piano one fall day in 1990 after learning the kidney my mother had donated to me nine years earlier had failed. I was twenty-five years old and, once again, rattled to the core by yet another, not-so-subtle, reminder of just how fragile we are. I was sixteen years old when I got that first transplant. The idea of going through that for a second time unraveled me. We moved in with my parents at their suggestion. The house I had grown up in was still fitted with the specialized plumbing and connections required for the de-ionized water tanks needed for dialysis. I got back on the transplant list, and after a mercifully short wait, I got my third shot at life from an anonymous donor. Please, please, please consider being an organ donor. And please, please, please make sure your loved ones understand your wishes. Thanks to our anonymous hero, Cindy and I will celebrate our 37th anniversary in September of 2025. Every day is such a gift.

Music by David Greathouse
© 1990, Sourdough Music, ASCAP