Going to Maine this morning... the farm... Friendship Sloop Society's annual regatta and homecoming in Rockland.
Don't have any fun without me. Don't get into the car with anyone who has been drinking. Feed the cat.
See ya next week!
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Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Outta here
Monday, July 14, 2008
This is what I did yesterday afternoon
Holloran Country Club, Pool, and Spa. It was wicked good.
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Sunday, July 13, 2008
Breakfast with the Sistas
Had breakfast this morning (a three-hour affair) with Tanya and Debbie, my Breast Cancer Sistas. It's a once-every-couple-of-months event that always feels good, from the anticipation of spending time with two wonderful people to actually being together.
Time seems to stand still when we sit down over two coffees, one tea, scrambled eggs, a cheese omelet, and a pair over easy with pancakes (I think we each order the same thing every time!)
It's so easy to talk and share what's in my heart and head to these two remarkable women. They've been where I've been--shared the wonders, the what-if worries, been afraid and brave, intimidated and confident, and most of all, been good friends through a process that at times seemed impossible to comprehend.
Through every conversation they offered me nothing but encouragement and support. They always validate my concerns, never make my fears seem trivial, and I hope that I've always given them the same care and respect.
They are important people in my support network, but I want them for more than their support. I want them in my life for the friendship they give so willingly. When I am with them--even though we share a common bond that each of us would gladly do without--the bond seems distant and unimportant. It's not what defines us. It's just the chance that brought us together.
I wish I had a photo of the three of us to share. Next time, for sure, we'll have that usually grumpy waitress snap a picture.
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Note the time on this post....
Dave and I just rolled in from an evening at The Black Rose in Boston. PJ is in bed and sound asleep. That hasn't happened in years.
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Friday, July 11, 2008
Benign!
Wonderful news! It's benign! I don't know what I'd have done if the news had been bad.
Biopsy shows pathological scarring, backed up by the mammogram films. Nurse says doc may want to surgically remove that scarring. Not sure what all that means. I'll do some reading and see if I can figure it out. In the mean time. I have an MRI Tuesday as a followup and a date with the doc on July 30 to discuss whatever may be next.
But before then, there's a little celebratory beverage consumption planned for later today.
OK, I gotta go back to work...
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Thursday, July 10, 2008
I am invisible
(Stand by, I'm in a mood...)
Invisible! I must be! What other explanation is there as to why on two occasions, and within moments, people stepped in front of me as I waited my turn at Wal-mart earlier this evening?
First at the photo counter. A chick in a little black dress (and huge earrings that had to be cubic zirconia) waltzed around me to stand next in line to pick up photos. She opened her wallet and started digging through receipts and before offered assistance, announced she was there to pick up her photos. Duh. When I lifted my arms as if to say "Huh?" to the clerk, the clerk asked if she could assist me. The chick in the black dress looked over her shoulder and gave me the "Who the f%$# are YOU looking at?" look. I got my photos, politely thanked the nice clerk for first taking care of the person who really was next in line, and went on my way.
Off to the hair accessory aisle to swap something I'd grabbed earlier for something else. There was someone looking through the accessories while blocking the display with her shopping cart. As I waited for her to move, a woman and her daughter blew in, moved the carriage, and proceeded to paw through the merchandise. I was a split second from putting my hand on the woman's shoulder and asking her to wait her turn when I recognized her. She attends my church. Part of me isn't surprised by her rude boldness. She does it well. I hope she reads this.
She and her daughter stood blocking the displays while they debated which item to buy. I finally reached over her head to put back the item I was holding and didn't bother to hang around to find what I wanted. I had all I could to to ignore her husband who stood waiting at the head of the aisle (and looking a tad ignored himself, come to think about it). If I'd spoken it wouldn't have been to say anything polite.
Which leads me to ask myself why I let people who clearly have little to offer by way of gracious behavior (a) treat me that way or (b) push me into such a state of frenzy. None of the irritation is worth the points it scored on my blood pressure reading.
What's better, speaking up when someone is rude, or standing back and allowing them to continue their selfish ways, and worse, instill in their children that it's OK to treat others with so little regard?
There, I feel better already.
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Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Fun, fun, fun!
What's the most fun you can have AFTER a breast biopsy? Having a mammogram!
"Why is this necessary?" I asked.
"To document we did the procedure and to give you a new baseline," the nice woman said.
Good reasons. Now we wait for results. Pass me an ice pack.
{end of post}
Hot and steamy, and I don't mean me
OMG, it's SO hot and humid and awful outside. How do people live in the tropics? I'd do nothing but be crabby all day.
I'd like to design my own place to live. Put everything I want around me on a huge sliding plate--family and friends, Market Basket and Lucci's, a New Hampshire state liquor store, the gym, the office--(you get the idea), then dial up a new location based on temperature and weather conditions and slide everything around. Need some rain for the plants and grass? Dial it up. Need enough snow to close the office for a day? Return to mid-70's and no humidity the next. Cool enough every evening to sleep under a blanket with the windows open.
Maybe in my next life.
I'm rediscovering the joy of reading books. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? I haven't found time (made time) to read for pleasure in a very long time. It's a personal treat I seem only to provide myself when I'm on vacation in Maine. I'm changing that.
I used to spend my commute to and from work listening to books on tape or CD. I have a list in my wallet that must have 200 titles on it (in 8-point type) of the books and authors I've enjoyed over the years. It would frustrate me to find an author I like and get the same title again and again because I'd forget which books I'd listened to. Hence the list.
I started commuting to the office with a coworker a few months ago (and in May, Dave came to work for my company too), so my on-the-road-to-work listening time went away with $3 gas. I miss my time with Sanford, the Pattersons, Grisham, Woods, and friends.
So, I'm back to reading. It means carving "me" time out of the day, which isn't always easy to do. Dave helped me put a book on CD through the computer and into iPod files recently, I got to enjoy it while on the treadmill at the gym. That's always a possibility.
Today is biopsy day. Just can't wait to get this over with, hear the news and move along. Has to be negative, right?
Please share some love and prayers today with Jan's nephew Matthew.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Aunt Sis
Dave's Aunt Sis died earlier this evening. It's a moment that had been coming for a while now. She battled cancer over the last two years and did the best she could, but in the end that damn disease got the better of her.
She was a character, and I say that in the nicest of ways. She always seemed to be laughing and joking, and as Dave said just a few minutes ago, "we dug at each other." They were always carrying on about something, making it larger than it really was. But they did it with love for one another and that made it fun to watch the two of them go after each other. She faced some tough times through the years and still always had that smile.
Today is the 4th of July, Independence Day. I think it's rather fitting that today is the day she died. She gained her independence over cancer. Unfortunately it takes her away from the people who love her.
We took in a fire works show tonight in Salem (it was spectacular). I couldn't help but smile as I watched, thinking about Sis. I swear I heard her thundering about her new freedom in some of those explosions. And there was a new color I've never seen before in some of the bursts, a soft sage/seafoam green. It had to be a little of her in that new color. It was a happy color, another message. "I'm OK now, don't fret."
Dave is going to miss his Aunt Sis. And I'm going to miss her too.
Wake 4-8 PM Monday, July 7, 2008
Funeral 10 AM Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Both from:
James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home
48 Common Street
Walpole, Massachusetts 02081
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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Another milestone
Just took the blow dryer to my head of curls. It's SO DAMN HOT AND HUMID that I can't stand it. PJ and I walked around the lake in Wakefield earlier and the consensus was that I needed (badly) to take a shower.
So now there's a thunderstorm percolating just to the south and it's pretty steamy. There isn't much worse that a wet head of hair when the humidity is off the charts.
I did the only logical thing, I grabbed the blow dryer and had at my hair. First time in, hell, I don't know, almost 9 months? My hair came out in October. Not only did I dry it, I brushed and blew out the curls. So it's straight! But remember, it's humid. It won't last!
Time to shut down and get away from the electrical outlets. I'm a chicken in a thunder storm!
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