Greetings, friends. When someone like me, undergoing chemo, doesnt say hello for too long, you might get concerned. I am feeling fine, getting treatments every other Monday. I feel yucky for the first couple days, then pretty much normal. My normal, however, is not my former normal. I was accustom to doing as much as I want for as long as I want and wherever I want. Was I really that bad? Probably, for every project now seems to take longer than catsup coming out of a glass bottle. Basically, long enough to try ones last nerve. Keep in mind, decades of being a Kindergarten teacher should testify to my patience. We are renovating the kitchen, incorporating the former breakfast nook into the main kithchen. I seems like we started a year ago, but since getting diagnosed, I leave most of the work to my brother, Don, and house mate, Richard to do...his contribution to the household. Things will be pretty much accomplished by the new year thanks to these two. Whew! They tore up our street in early August, so we have been on a gravel road until this past week. Now they are finishing up the sidewalks and parkways. When they get all done, I have to rebuild the rock retaining walls in our sloping parkway, plus a brick carriage way (narrow walk right next to the curb...will use paving bricks that were excavated then they tore up the blacktop ). Hope for fair weather this December. However, we have new storm sewers, regular sewer lines, water lines, gas lines, and a newly paved road with new curb and gutters, sidewalks, and a refreshed look for next growing season...plus no pot holes! My blood counts seem to be holding steady and the chemo is impacting the cancer. It is a matter of how long my body can tolerate this. Long enough to put the cancer into remission? Thats the best case scenerio. That the chemo only keeps it at bay until this chemo is no longer effective, then trying another is the second best. That I have to pull back on chemotherapy because it knocks my immune system and other vital blood components too low is a third possibility. I have gained only four pounds of the thirty-five that I lost, but my diet has improved greatly...at least for my teeth and gums. The hygenist and dentist both say my mouth has not been so healthy in years. No soft drinks, lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy, and protein. Also puts on muscle without putting on fat. My good friend, Barb, a fellow antiques collector and dealer, is joining me on a weeklong trip to Pennsylvania later this month. She and her late husband have been friends with us way back to my Jay days...and Jay died twenty years ago the December. Barbs husband has been gone for two a half years. Like Jay, he was an essential asset to the business, but Barb and I have managed to be successful dealers since their departure. We both say we dont need to buy anything, but the thrill of the hunt is drawing me to destinations I have not visited in a decade. It will be new territory for her. She has volunteered to do the driving, and I the gas and hotels. We hope to be in Adamstown for their weekend antique flea markets, and will be staying with Jays folks near Pittsburgh for an evening coming and going. Brandon is quitting his second job at my prodding. He loves that security job, but with the full time nanny job, it is not good for his health...not nearly enough good sleep...eats into his personal time and our time together. I am the culprit and get sad when he seems to resent me as the reason for his having to quit. I dont remind him that for the wintery half of the year, we gets only a couple shifts a week...not enough to pay the bills. The summer season is much busier. He truly enjoys the routine and rules of security work over the daily antics and rampages of two pre-school boys. Yet, he spends more of his own money on those boys than many grandparents do. Cant keep him out of the childrens and toy departments. As any parent will attest, it is the hardest job youll ever love. He brings the boys over here frequently, and our eight-month-old wire fox Terrier is beside himself with delight. Brandon says the puppy has my personality. Hummmm. This may be a superb thought-provoking statement to end on.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 15:03:18 +0000
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