Fight with leukemia is like playing Red Light Green Light

We recalled our childhoods and what it was like growing up in a family of nine children.

I remember riding bikes up and down our half-mile dead-end road, racing each other. We caught frogs in our pond and built forts in the woods. The whole neighborhood gathered in our front yard to play cowboys and Indians, partner tag, freeze tag, TV tag and just plain old tag.

But one of my favorite games to play when I was a little girl was Red Light Green Light. The practice of running, then freezing, then sprinting for the finish line hoping not to get caught seemed so entertaining.

As I think of my brother in a place that isn't home, his life on hold while he undergoes cancer treatment, I think of our childhood game.

It is a red light. He is standing still, trying not to flinch and waiting for the signal … green light.

Lydia Hansen Benedict blogs about food, health, education and family. She runs an organic farm in Virginia. Her website is www.lydiabenedict.com.