%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 Each day feels new, and my memory of the one before is faint. I’m learning to adapt. |
|
In September 2019, a seizure revealed a lime-sized meningioma pressed against my hippocampus—the part of the brain that governs memory and language. The doctors said it was benign, but benign didn’t mean harmless. Surgery removed the tumor, and three days later I opened my eyes to a new reality. I could walk, I could talk, but when I looked at my wife, her name was gone. I called her Precious—the only word I could find. A failure of memory, yet perhaps the truest name of all. Recovery has been less cure than re-calibration. Memory gaps are frequent. Conversations vanish. I had to relearn how to write, letter by halting letter. My days are scaffold by alarms, notes, and calendars. When people ask how I am, I don’t list symptoms or struggles. I simply say, “Seven Degrees Left of Center.” It’s not an answer—it’s who I’ve become. |
| Decaf has always struck me as coffee’s polite cousin—the one who shows up to the party dressed right but leaves before anything fun happens. It looks like coffee, smells like coffee, even pretends to be coffee, but when it comes to the punchline… nothing. No spark. No buzz. Just brown water with good intentions. Like decaf, dreams without courage look promising but deliver nothing real. And that’s exactly what a dream without courage feels like. You can picture it, plan it, daydream it, even talk about it as if it’s already brewing. But unless you stir in courage—that jittery, heart-thumping, “oh no, I’m really doing this” kind of energy—it stays flat. Safe. Decaffeinated. Courage is the caffeine in every real dream. It’s the thing that takes you from imagining to moving, from someday to today. And yes, it might make you shaky. It might make your heart race. But it also wakes you up to your own life. But if you actually want your dream to carry you forward? Skip the decaf. Decide today—where can you add courage and take one bold step toward your dream? A dream without courage is just decaf. Don’t just imagine—choose boldness. Take action and taste the difference. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
Sending prayers for continued improvement and recovery 
