My in-laws moved-in with us during the second week of September. A new school year and tears had just begun. And I was actively mourning the end of summer and the beginning of an autumn that, at best, wouldn’t be a good time.

Maury, my father-in-law, has cancer again.

Eight years ago cancer festered in Maury’s throat. They moved-in then, as they have now, to receive treatment at Boston’s Dana Farber Cancer Institute.That cancer was stubborn and held on with a kung-fu grip for six months while Maury suffered a cure that nearly killed him. A medical version of shock and awe.

Eight years ago my kids were very young; two and four years old. That posed unique challenges and I found myself saying the most bizarre things to them.

“No, Papa’s teeth don’t live in his mouth anymore. They live in a glass now.”

“The man in the photo…