Starting Off Another Year

The storms have passed, the weather has warmed up, all of the snow is gone, as is all the ice. After a very slippery and icy start to the New Year, it is nice to be getting more “normal” weather for this part of the country.

As I started to write the above, I thought about all of the storms we have in our lives. My current “storm” is cancer. I hope to soon be able to say “that storm too has passed”. It’s amazing how quickly and easily we slip into the cancer-healing mode. Just a short seven months ago I wasn’t even thinking about cancer with reference to myself. And now here I am – over halfway through with chemotherapy. Inching closer each week to the finish line.

My dog is much better these days. She still has a slight limp in her front leg, but she’s back to her old spunky self. Even managed to skip steps when hopping up the stairs outside. She also is trying to jump back up on the ottoman, but so far I have stifled that. I know that she can jump up, but she has the very real potential of hurting her brittle bones when she hops back down. She still thinks she’s tough (I guess she and I are a lot alike that way)!!!

I have been successfully ticking off lodging accommodations for the trip next June. I’ve got everything confirmed except for five days. Three of those days are in a resort village on Lake Como - - in a town called Varenna, Italy. The place has quoted me a price (it’s a little B&B and they only have two rooms for rent). As I prepared to send a fax to finalize the booking, I realized that they do not even have a fax machine. And they are officially closed for the winter season – from November until the first of April. But they have communicated with me within two or three days, so hopefully they will respond to my latest email with a confirmation. The last two places I won’t book until we actually arrive in France. We are renting a car and will be going to Normandy and the D-Day Beaches. We’re going to both the American beaches and to the Canadian beaches this time, involving two nights away from Paris.

I felt really lousy this week after chemo. This was the first time I’ve felt badly, and I’m thinking it was because of the Percocet medication. Who really knows. But today I’m feeling much, much better. Of course, it could just be that the chemo has compounded in me enough that when they add more, I feel worse. Will definitely be glad when March arrives and I can ring that bell that says “we’re done”. They’re going to do a CT scan after this series of chemo. Then I’ve got a follow-up appointment in Seattle with my surgeon. It will be good to see him again.

May you conquer all of your storms this year. God is good. Always ask Him for help.