Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was beautiful this year.  The Ozarks were at their November best, the weather was gorgeous, and this Tucsonan was, again, fascinated by the proliferation of trees!!  The food, the robot-mugs, the cloth napkins, the behaviorally-challenged canines, the extremely-full car ride, the caboose in the woods by the pond, the grass - each of these could be the subject of its own blog post.  But none of them have anything to do with cancer.  That was possibly the best part - feeling so normal, being so normal, doing things that I would have done this year, and in this way, even if I hadn't woken up in pain four months ago and gone through everything that followed. 

Being together with family was extra-special, particularly Grandma, who's had health concerns of her own to combat.  Also, Grandma has chronically cold hands that felt amazing on my head when I would get a bout of my own personal summer (hot flash).  Needless to say, I was sure to sit by her often. 

My list of things I'm thankful for this year is very long.  I'm glad I don't have cancer anymore.  I'm happy I don't start another round of chemo tomorrow.  But those things (or perhaps more clearly, their opposite - having cancer, needing chemo) seem more like fate, something no one has control over.  So I'm most grateful for the people who have surrounded me and stood by me in so many ways the past few months. Because those people (i.e. you, and others) have made a choice to support me, have gone out of their way to make my life more pleasant by taking care of my physical, emotional, medical, and yes, even social needs in the middle of the yuck.  Thank you.