12/17

Apologies for my silence this week. It has been an extraordinarily tough week for my little family back home. We learned that my grandfather's biopsy came back positive for lung cancer. As you might imagine, this was devastating news. Before we subject ourselves to despair, we now have to have a PET scan performed to find out what stage the cancer is in, and what our treatment options are.

Those of you who follow my feed know that my Papou is my single most favorite man on the planet. He is a simple man, and his simplicity has taught me so much about patience and loyalty. His unconditional love and dedication is rare and astounding.

At the doctor's office, he held his hand up to me in a fist with conviction, and said in his Greek accent, " You are a rock." I asked him to explain what he meant, to which he responded, "You are like a rock. You hold me." I take those words so seriously, and I hope that I can live up to them in what are some of his darkest hours.

It will be a struggle for me to maintain a reassuring optimism for him while I am forced to make some incredibly difficult decisions regarding his remaining days. Above all, I want those days, however many there are, to be worthwhile and with minimal suffering. This diagnosis is daunting, because cancer treatments and surgery are largely invasive, especially for elderly people, and lung cancer is not something that someone can just live with comfortably.

The next few weeks, I will be occupied with many doctor visits and long, serious talks with my grandfather. Please keep him in your thoughts this holiday season.

Needless to say, as I focus more on my grandfather, and cultivating a local lifestyle, my touring will become extremely limited this year. Also, my sister has decided to move home with our parents. While I will miss her immensely, it does lift a burden of responsibility off my shoulders and affords me the time and energy to dedicate to my grandfather and to working locally. I will dedicate the vacant space to a fine art and shooting area.

With all of that said, I still made the time to come to the Catskills and complete my tour (despite quite a few substantial cancelations). I have had some very fulfilling time with some of my most favorite and long time photographers, which gave me some comfort during a difficult time. Tomorrow is my last shooting day, and then I head home.

I hope to share these happenings with you on Tumblr tomorrow evening. I know my postings have been a little sparse lately, and for that I apologize and will hope to make up for in the coming week.

Please know, in the mean time, how deeply I appreciate your patience and support. Those of you who wrote me sweet notes of encouragement regarding this troubling time, I cannot express enough how much those sentiments mean to me. Really. From the bottom of my heart... Thank you.