Happy Birthday, Bill!

Today is my little brother Bill's birthday.  He knows how old he is, but I can't tell the rest of you because I will be seeing him soon, and I am sure his retaliation would be fearsome.  The best I can hope for when he LIKES me is to get my face licked when I am expecting a brotherly kiss instead.

Who am I kidding?  I am not afraid of you, William Alfred Ineson Jr.!  Ha!  You are 47 years old today!!! So there!  And..... (throwing caution to the wind....)  take THIS:

Bwahahahaha!  (feeling really giddy right now)

Oh, Lord.  What have I done?    

Happy Birthday, Bill!  (I love you!)

Here we go again!

So, a few weeks ago I was seeing my oncologist, Dr. Naidu for a routine visit.  While we were chatting, he asked me if I was still blogging, and I told him "not really".  He asked me why, and I told him that I didn't think people were as interested in my life while cancer was in remission as they were when it was not.  He said "Oh, I don't think that's the case at all." Hmm.

Well, Dr. Naidu is a pretty smart guy, and I have not gone wrong thus far in following his advice, so I guess I'll give "healthy blogging" a shot.  I warn you in advance - I don't think I am all that interesting, but you can read at your own risk.  If nothing else, this blog may help you to wean yourself off of any sleep aids you may be taking.

See my new plate?

Isn't it pretty?  I found it at TJ Maxx yesterday on clearance for $3.00.  This plate and the cherries I got the other day at Target are inspiring a red and white china hutch decor.

Here are the cherries - in a container I also found at TJ Maxx for $3.99.  It has a little chip at the top, so I turned it so that the chip was on the side - you can't even see it!

I commented that this middle section was looking a little empty and my friend Heather suggested I hang a picture there.  I am shopping the house to see what I can find.

Here are some more of my treasures:  an old Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book that fits the color scheme, my vintage typewriter, a pitcher I got years ago on clearance for $4.00 and my pretty mama bird with her baby - a gift from my friend Crickett.

Here's the whole thing... for now.  I don't think I'm done tweaking yet.  On the dining room table, you can also see the pretty Farberware wooden napkin holder I also found at TJ Max for um.. I think it was $3.99. 

Anyhow... that's my project for the day - hope you like it!  (I'll share a picture of my fabulous new "retro" melamine butter dish later!)

Katherine

My daughter Katherine has had the gift of making people laugh since she was a little girl.  Funny just seems to fall out of her mouth.  My friend Michele used to ask me every morning when I went to work "What did Katherine say today?"

Turning 18 and becoming an adult has not made her less funny.  She continues to amuse me on an almost daily basis.

The other day, we visited a local bakery.  Katherine loves their elephant ears and wanted me to get some. The only ones they had were chocolate dipped.  The shopkeeper explained that in order to get plain ones, you needed to order them 24 hours in advance.

Later, at home, Katherine expressed her disappointment as only Katherine can.

"I just don't understand why their default setting is chocolate."

I think she needs to step away from the computer for a bit.  And I need to call Michele.

Harvest Time

I love harvest time... the anticipation of bringing in the homegrown treats you've worked so hard to grow all through the Spring.  Hoping the weather holds while you bring in the fruits of your labor, and dreaming of all of the wonderful things you'll make with your bounty.

Soon, that glorious produce will fill this bowl:

I can hardly wait!  

Hmm.  

The Last Chemo

On Tuesday, I had my last chemo treatment.  Today, I dragged myself out of bed at 10:38 and managed to be showered and dressed by 12:45.  To say that I am having a rough time is putting it mildly.  This last session (pardon my French) has kicked my ass.  My throat burns like someone stuck a lit torch down it.  My stomach has been very unhappy, as has the rest of my digestive system.  Enough said about that.  And I am so tired that the least bit of exertion has me wanting a nap.  Or a good cry.  Sometimes both.  But I am finished.  Thank the Lord.  I couldn't sleep Tuesday night; my stomach was too upset to let me relax until well after 1:00 am.  David talked with me for a long time, although I know he wanted to sleep.  I had lots of thoughts I wanted to share, and I will when I have the energy.  For now, though, some rest and recovery time. 

On Aging

There are several birthdays coming up among our family members and friends, including some milestone ones. A good friend of mine is turning forty this month and I will be fifty in June.

David and I attended his uncle's funeral on Sunday.  And my neighbor (one I haven't seen in a while) just told me her daughter passed away in December at the age of 52.

All of that has made me think about growing older and it's alternative.

Turning thirty was weird. It was a number that just didn't feel like who I was.  And forty?  Ha!  Forty implied a wisdom and maturity that I did not possess.  I felt like an impostor.  Like someone was going to check my Grownup Card any minute and find out it was a forgery.  Both numbers also brought a kind of horrified fascination - "I'm HOW old?"

Fifty, however, ushers in a whole new kind of feeling.  Joyousness.  Delight.  Gratitude.  It's a fullness.  A sense of ... not completion, but satisfaction in a job relatively well done thus far.  Sure, I have made mistakes.  Big, hairy, ugly ones.  I have not been the person I would like to have been.  And at times I have enjoyed the sins I have committed, yes I have.  But... I'm still here, hopefully becoming a better person every day, and enjoying the treasures I have stored up along the way.

I have raised a child to adulthood; one who seems to be to be pretty normal, given that she has inherited my sense of humor and love of sarcasm and chocolate.   One who doesn't hate me or blame me for any psychological damage I may have inadvertently caused her through my ignorance or ineptitude.  In fact, I rather think she likes me.  I like her too.

I have friends.  Ones that I can discuss anything with; ones that I say "I love you" to, and they say it back.  Frequently.  And we mean it.  And we unashamedly hug and kiss each other pretty much every time we meet and get great joy from it.  I can literally feel the love radiating from these women.  I hope they feel it too.  They know my moods, put up with my quirks (like my hatred of the telephone and my crankiness)  and still want to spend time with me.  If I ask them "Do I look fat in this?" they will tell me the truth, because they honestly do not want to see me going somewhere looking fat.  Over the past year, they have forced me to open up and talk when I thought I wanted to keep things to myself.  And it has been good for me. It has reminded me that it's okay to lean on other people sometimes.  It feels good.  To the leaner and the lean-ee.  (I know... that's not a word.)

I have a husband.  An amazing, wonderful husband of nearly thirteen years.  How could I possibly be unhappy about getting older when each day I grow older is another day that I get to spend with him?

Life is an amazing gift from God, and birthdays are an annual celebration of that gift. Come June, I intend to rip the paper off that gift with abandon and fling it in the air, thanking God for one more year. Go do some celebrating of your own.  Life is short.  Enjoy.