Wednesday night I get to see Hamilton! Our tickets are terrific, and we got them for face value. (The cheapest scalper seats for tonight are $500+.) I've been listening to the soundtrack, prepping. (I can hear Eliza's voice in my head: "Look around ... look around ...".) I am so excited that my city has come together over a biracial cast rapping about the founding fathers.

What a glorious, positive thing!

I was also looking forward to spending time with my friend Barb. Her life is changing so much. Newly retired, awaiting breast reconstruction, downsizing one home into another ... I don't really know the details of what's going on with her and I was looking forward to catching up.

So when I got the email this afternoon, I felt my stomach drop.

Barb's husband is in the hospital. In the morning they thought it was pneumonia. When I held her and hugged her this evening, the doctors were preparing her and John for the likelihood of lung cancer.

This news exhausted me. I got home and went to sleep on the sofa at 8:00.

2016 has delivered to much pain and hardship to me and to those around me. I can't bear to list it all out right now.

Thank God for the Cubs.