I’m always sad on Sunday night knowing the weekend is over. Is that a sign that I need a more fulfilling job?
At least I got something done today. My future son-in-law designed a logo for their upcoming wedding, so I offered to put it on some glassware for their wedding party, and I worked on it today. I’m thankful to be able to help out this way since I haven’t been able to do much from afar for the wedding plans.
Today is the day my mom, younger sister Jen and my brother-in-law Jim came to town. Jim’s family lives in the same town and his sister was throwing a graduation party, so they stopped by for lunch. Then mom stayed with us while they went to the party. Since they’ve gotten their COVID vaccinations, we were finally able to visit inside. And HUG! I’m so grateful to see them and visit normally again.
I’m terrible at taking pictures of people when we are together, but I did get a picture of this massive cake mom made for us. Folks, it’s a 3-layer chocolate, peanut butter, and cheesecake monster, and I swear it weighed 20 pounds before we cut into it. It’s delicious and I’m prepared to gain weight over it.
And while she didn’t come with, my older sister Tammy sent along a tote filled with snacks for our upcoming road trip for my daughter’s wedding. She and my nieces included sweet cards as well. How perfect is this bag?! I’m lucky to have such a supportive family. I’ll start dieting when all my cancer stuff is over.
I’m glad it’s the weekend again! And I’m thankful I got the house cleaning done tonight that I wanted to. In fact, I even had time to relax a bit and read again. It’s been great to feel like reading again. In fact, I think I’ve been a lot less fatigued these days, which is wonderful, and my rash is FINALLY going away. Small steps!
I’m thankful for a bit of rain, cards from my mom, a good burger, and a glass of wine.
I lost track of time and now I have too much to do. My mom is coming for a short visit this weekend. Since we haven’t had any visitors in the house for months, things have gotten a bit messy—not dirty because we still clean—but a pile of something here and there that we mean to put away but don’t get to. Winter clothes that haven’t made it to the winter tote. The craft items I need to bring to my storage unit. The spring items I set aside when I put some summer items out. I want to get everything tidied up, but there isn’t enough time in my day. Dang that full-time job! Haha!
Next week we leave for my daughter’s wedding, so I’ll also have to start putting together everything we need to take along. However, I can worry more about that starting Sunday. I did clean up my craft room tonight, so that was a start. While there is a lot on my to-do list, I’m thankful to have this visit to look forward to.
I can’t believe I forgot to post this yesterday. Well, yes, I can. I was busy enjoying the cool down in weather last night. I sat outside on the deck with a glass of wine and read. The breeze was so cool that I needed a sweater, and it was wonderful! We still need rain, but I’m grateful to be able to turn off the air conditioning and open the windows and doors again.
I was also thankful to chat with my sister for a while. She’s been a great resource and support for me since she had breast cancer too. We talk pretty regularly to catch up and compare notes.
Last week I called my nurse coordinator to ask her about some test results that I got. During our conversation, we talked about the next steps in my treatment. I mentioned that I thought I should have an MRI before meeting with my surgeon again. She agreed and said she’d call his office, which she did. So today I had an MRI. Next week I meet with my surgeon.
Getting an MRI is an uncomfortable experience, but today I’m thankful for it because it confirmed that chemo works. The results showed “markedly improved appearance” compared to the previous one. My last MRI showed a 2-inch tumor spanning all four “quadrants.” This one showed 3 small spots, about 5mm or less each.
I think it’s probably a common fear for those with cancer to worry that the medicine won’t help. I had read that sometimes lobular cancer doesn’t respond well to chemo, and that was stuck in the back of my mind. That’s most likely why I felt such relief today. Even though the improvement doesn’t change the fact that I still need surgery and radiation, I’ll go into the next step feeling like the chemo has already made a big difference.
I’m thankful for another Sunday. I slept in a little bit. Yay! Then we got out of town again for a while and had a relaxing night. I wish tomorrow was also Sunday.
I crafted today! I think I needed to be creative and spend time focusing on something other than my frustrations, especially when there isn’t much I can do about them. Plus it’s been about 100 degrees outside these days, so staying in the air conditioning was good. One thing I made was a 4th of July couple from silver salt and pepper shakers. They’re not great, but it was fun.
I’m thankful for the time in my craft room. And I’m thankful that Patrick did the laundry and vacuuming today. Bonus!
I almost forgot to write today! That’s how happy I am that it’s finally Friday. Besides being grateful for the end of the week, I’m also thankful for ice cream for lunch, a chat with my mother-in-law, and an impromptu dinner invitation from friends. It was a good day.
