Impermanence

I figure Impermanence is something you learn or read about in Buddhism 101.  Everything changes, nothing lasts forever, constantly in a state of flux.  Look at Blogger.  For whatever reason they changed the way you post and the font I liked is gone from the drop menu.  Google did the same thing with their personalized news page.  Lots of times a site will revamp its look and piss off loyal users.
On a more serious level, I need to move.  Now, for a bit of a back story, I am an ex-pat.  This means I do not live in the country I was born in.  Very long story short, on a trip I found a small twon I absoloutely loved, and for 6 years I fought and tried and finally found an opportunity to move.  I love the town I live in.  Oh but for impermanence.  I found a woman I love, she had 3 kids from her forst marriage.  I raise them as if they were my own.  Some time last year, we suffered a miscarriage.  With the follow up tests and all we discovered the cause: cancer of the uterus.  They kept doing more and more tests and also found out she has leukemia.  Her sister lives in a much larger city, in fact the best hospital in South America for leukemia is in that city.  So off she went with the kids to be with her sister and start treatment.  I had to stay behind to finish up some work contracts.  Next week I will finally be moving to be with them.
With all this, you can see impermanence: a baby died, her health is seriously affected, I need to pick up sticks and move to a city where I have no contacts, no friends, no knowledge of anything.  Impermanence can be big or little, but it can't be ignored.

I'm back (but I was never really gone)

Shit. Lots of shit happened. But hey, it's life. See, the last few months have been very hectic, more so than usual. My wife was diagnosed with not one but two types of cancer. She moved with the kids to another city for treatment, and I will join them next month. Now, the weird part is I haven't gotten upset or bitter. Nothing. I just shrugged my shoulders and said "meh. Shit happens. People get cancer every day, so why not us." I dunno why, but that was my reaction. So I wonder about what some people say as a criticism of Zen and Buddhism, that it makes people detached robots. Now I know that is an "extreme", but I can see where it comes from. Of course I am worried, but I am also accepting the facts. Getting all hot and bothered aint gonna cure her, so why go through it. In a podcast I once heard a tale where this woman who lost her son went to the Buddha and asked him to bring back her son to life. Buddha says "OK. I will bring your son back to life if you can bring me some mustard seeds from a household that has never experienced the pain of death." The woman goes out and soon enough finds out that there is no household that has never experienced the pain of death. Now, I could give a shit either way if the story is true, the message is what is important. So, when the inevitable happens, I just need to accept it as a part of life, and try and explain it to the kids as best I can. Thats all I got time for, but I hope to post again soon.