Wednesday September 30, 2009
Today started with a cup of joe and standing at the patio doors staring out at the bleak fall sky... as i turned to speak with the kids who had made their way downstairs for breakfast, something caught my eye.... oh Lord, if it isn't a Heron soaring overhead and I quickly changed lanes and stepped through the doors to wave the bird off before he could come any closer. A quick walk over to the pond and I realize that I can see only one fish. The water is so cold and it is visible on the bottom amongst the plants but where were the others? I didn't want to believe that the others could have been eaten. I remember Shelly telling me that we needed to put in a Heron statue to scare off any other Heron's that might find the pond enticing like today.... I promptly grabbed the beautifully carved King Fisher statue from its place beside the hearth and placed it beside the pond..... Max later put down netting in the chill of the evening after removing the lovely pond lettuce and Hyacinth plants. How did it get so cold so fast? Max has found 3 slow moving goldfish..... hope we will have little ones in the spring.
With the kids off to school I putter around. I am anxiously awaiting a package from LympheDivas..... the sleeve I have been wearing is now coming apart at the thumb and a nylon run has made its way to the wrist. What luck!! There is a package, jammed into my mailbox and I can't believe the excitement as I carry it into the house. I finally get it opened and am ecstatic to find that the fit is perfect and it is so me!! It is a red sleeve with gold dragons and medallions on it.... I am born in the year of the Dragon - I realize that one of the ladies I knew years ago who was diagnosed with breast cancer called her cancer a dragon..... to me the dragon has strength and power and when we call upon that within ourselves, it is that power and energy that we need to fight the cancer!! Perspective and attitude are as unique as the treatments that each breast cancer patient goes through. I admire the sleeve and note how it has lifted my spirits... I do not know for how long I must wear a sleeve - for some with a notable lymph-edema they will always have to wear one but my case is mild and we are trying to keep it controlled so that it will stay that way. My excitement spills over with a call to Tracy in the LympheDiva's headquarters in Pennsylvania. She is so happy to hear from me and she is surprised with my enthusiasm - the Dragon Sleeve is the favorite of the manager there. I ask if I can email her with my professional pics that show the tattoos that the sleeve will now be covering and she says 'of course!' After scanning my pics I attach them to an email with a brief thank you note. With my spirits uplifted, and with nothing else on my agenda, I make my way over to the nail salon to get my pretty nails done just one more time.....
My nail lady is an interesting woman.... growing up in a dangerous place in dangerous times during the Vietnam war - she has fled her homeland and found refuge in a country where she has been able to support not only her immediate family but also her extended family still overseas. We have chatted for years and I have become accustomed to her thick accent - we stopped talking about mundane things soon after meeting.... I wanted to know this woman and found interest in her life. She is strong but is gentle, she is a woman with much to say and today she is in a great deal of pain and has been for a long time. She does not take the time away to get it looked after - there are too many people who depend on her but she knows if she doesn't she will be no good for anyone including herself. She shoos her girl away and takes the seat across from me. We talk quietly and I can read her face now and I ask her to make arrangements to get looked after.. she needs the surgery and the time to heal. She will have to find someone to cover for her. I have learned that things generally fall into place when you need them to. I have always seen her as being older than me but as we continue our discussion which has now turned to the sleeve I mention that I am born in the year of the Dragon - it turns out that she is as well - a few months younger in fact. My nails are done and I pay for them - I would hug her as I have often done but I know that it would be excruciating for her if I did. Instead, I let her know that I will be back next week to see her - she will be taking off my pretty nails... we both know that chemo will ravage the natural nails beneath.... I also need to be aware of and be careful to not get any infections in my one hand. I will miss our conversations but we both agree that I will come to visit often anyways.
I head back home, field a phone call from a friend who needs a shoulder and then it is back to finishing one of the library books I took out yesterday.... speed reading has its merits and thank goodness for the library - I am reading fluff books these days... nothing heavy but filled with fun and personal triumph of the head and heart variety - it would be hard to admit to it but yes the romance novels have a healing quality to them. They are usually about strong minded women who stand independently while falling crazy over some guy who is just as stubborn. You know they will end up together but really, in any journey - its not so much the destination as it is about the path it takes to get there. What a great escape from dishes while I continue on my journey!!
The kids are home and dinner is underway. Lydia has brownies tonight and although she sometimes does not want to go I can see her run off to join her new friends the minute we get through the door. I leave carrying two boxes of Guide Cookies and smile to myself that the sleeve I am wearing looks pretty darn good.....
I get home to read my emails and find one back from Tracy..... what a touching note: I have made her cry and as she writes that it is often difficult to put a face to a voice - she wants to see a picture of me wearing my Red Dragon!! So many kind people in my world who have touched me and made me cry .... the comments on the photo shoot pictures I posted to facebook were really touching. Thank you for the wonderful comments and for making me blush!!
Thank you to my husband for the surprise tickets to see KISS in Concert!! As tired as I was when we left - I would not have missed it for the world... xoxoxo Just remember the rules of etiquette - do not stand two feet away from someone and yell out your conversation while Paul Stanley of Kiss is talking...... we paid to hear the band play!!
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