The thermometer read negative fifteen degrees. I watched out the window as my uncle starts up the old hand-me down ford pickup truck with the rusted out bed. The faded red paint that was once flawless is now chipped from the many years of wear and tear. The seats are worn and have many holes from the miles they have traveled. As he starts up the truck, a thick puff of white smoke curls out of the exhaust.

I know the inside of the truck has to be freezing, but I know he won’t mind because he is so used to the cold. He traveled down the old dirt road to the pasture a trail of dust and smoke followed the old ford. I wondered if he needs help, but knowing uncle Randy would never ask for help even when he needs it the most.

He got the orange twine for the truck, put on his old tan leather gloves and started to tie up the hay to the truck. Soon after he arrived at the pasture, the cows let out a loud moo knew that food is coming, There is a new calf that tried to get its footing follow its mother. It slipped and slide on the winter ground covered with snow and ice. I watched as the cows greeted him with a friendly moo. As he untied the the twine and started to pull the frozen hay apart for the cows to eat, I wondered how he does it. How he finds the strength and courage to keep going on no matter how bad his cancer gets.

I still remember the day I found out like it was yesterday. I came home from a long day of school. When I opened the front door of the house, I was greeted by the smell of dinner on the stove, the sound of my family talking about how there days went and what happened that day, and the dogs barking and playing in the background.

“Tori, will you please help me set the table for dinner?” my mom asked,

“Ugh mom, do I have to? Why can’t Logan?” I responded.

“Tori, now please,” my mom said.

Ever so willingly, I went to the cupboard and got down, 5 blue plates with different colored flowers on them and set them on the table with the green table cloth.

As everyone started coming into the kitchen one by one, my mom places dinner on the table. As the dinner goes on and the conversations come to a pause, my mom looks up and said,

“We need to talk.”

Whenever my mom says those words, I know that something is wrong.

“We need to talk about Uncle Randy. He is very sick and we need to pray for him.” Instantly my stomach iced over. I felt like I was cemented to the chair and couldn't breathe. before I could even ask. My mind thinks the worst.

“Whats wrong?” I asked

“Uncle Randy has stage four lung cancer and isn't well,” she replied

I look around the table and I see the shock written all over my family's face.
I didn't know what say or what to do besides sit there in silence with the rest of my family. My mind was racing a million miles a minute with questions and concerns and why? Why him? My shock soon turned into anger, which turned into sadness. I didn't understand.

I know the side effects of his chemo must make him extra cold in the already chilly weather. As he carries on with his feeding the cows in the freezing January weather.

He is so, strong. He never wants to just give up. He is a fighter and he never complains even though I know its got to be just killing him. He is walking through a storm with his head up fearlessly. Each day must be a constant struggle. From working every day since the age of fifteen to just sitting at home and staring at the walls. He has such a positive attitude toward the situation and holds his head up so high. He showed me that if you keep a positive attitude you can you find something good even out of the worst situations. He is such an inspiration to me. He taught me to never take even the littlest things for granted because you never know when it’s going to be your last day. If you live everyday to the fullest then you will have no regrets. and to get my head up and have a good attitude no matter the situation. These lessons that I have learned from him made me into a stronger person.