Back in June I found a lump behind my ear. We went through the whole process of diagnostic tests and procedures and found out it was a benign tumor of a parotid gland that would need to be surgically removed. Given the alternatives, it was a big relief and a diagnosis I felt I could handle well. The plan sounded simple enough; make a few incisions around the ear and neck, remove the tumor, then sew it back up. But things are rarely as simple as they seem. The procedure itself was as straightforward as outlined. In and out, no problems - everything went according to plan. But I quickly realized it wasn't as sterile as I had made it out to be in my mind. I thought it was just about removing this mass from my neck, but it was so much more. A couple years ago when Steve came home from rehab, we started attending this meeting with a group of couples trying to navigate marriage and recovery through shared experiences. There were about 6 couples that formed the core of the g