You only live once!
- Jonathan Lee
- Aug 12
- 1 min read
I lost my father, Stanley Edward Lee, to brain cancer, glioblastoma, nine years ago today. I felt a tightness in my chest this morning. I thought it was from a bad night of sleep.
Nope.
It’s August 12th. A day that somehow still sneaks up on me.
Nine years ago, I knew this day was coming. The cancer was aggressive. We discovered it around January, followed by a short seven-month battle.
As I carry that pain, I continue to create joy and love in honor of Stanley Edward Lee.
Last week, I had the chance to attend a Mariners game with my family. Grayson kept eyeballing this growing group of dudes up in the nosebleeds, shirtless, loud, and completely engaged in the game.
I could see the envy on his face. So, I decided:
YOLO. You only live once.
We got up and spent three or four innings up there with them. Arms tired. Chests out. Voices hoarse. Hearts pumping.
As we made our way back down to Lauren and Vivian, Grayson leaned over to me and said:
Dad, that was a CORE memory.
My dad would never have done that. And for me, that’s the beauty of his lessons about life.
Do it all now. Time isn’t promised.
Thank you, Dad, for those amazing 36 years of life lessons. I’m now 6 years into those lessons with Vivi, 9 with Grayson, and 10 with Lauren. I’m still learning from you. Still carrying you with me. And still trying to turn those lessons into love, joy, and memories for the people I love most.
Keep blessing us and watching over us Dad.
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