And it also gave James a newfound appreciation for the little moments in his life.
“Presence is really the gift that cancer has given me,” he reflected. “Before cancer, I took all these little beautiful moments as part of a collection. I was just aware of everything. Now, I’m able much more to just settle into that exact moment.”
Among the most beautiful moments for James—who shares kids Olivia, 15, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 11, Emillia, 9, Gwendolyn, 8, and Jeremiah, 4, with wife Kimberly Van Der Beek—was seeing his eldest pay homage to his career.
In fact, he previously shared how emotional it was to watch Olivia sing the Dawson’s Creek theme song “I Don’t Want to Wait” by Paula Cole at the series reunion in September.
Noting that Olivia was the “same age that Dawson was in the pilot,” James wrote on Instagram, “To watch you stand there in that red dress, so confidently taking center stage amidst all those people I’ve known so long and cherish so deeply… I’m just left in awe.”
