Tomorrow Is a Big Day for Me

Tomorrow can be summarized as the best of times and the worst of times. It is the best of times because it is the last treatment of the 'red devil' chemotherapy, but it is the worst of times because I know what is coming with the side effects. It will be my own 'French Revolution.'

My friend Candi Hironaka gave me a packet of little cards that have inspirational sayings on them. I want to share a couple of those with you because I have found inspiration from them for my journey. I know many of you are on your own challenging journeys, and if you are anything like me, you find inspiration in unusual places. These sayings are from Mary Anne Radmacher - 'Courage doesn't always roar' and 'Courage is the candle we light with the flame of hope.' Somehow, those two sayings really made an impact on me today. It is probably because I need a little courage to think about tomorrow.

The day before chemo reminds me of the last day of school or work holiday. You really want to cherish the day and make it last as long as possible, but it seems to pass so fast. It is a little ironic because usually the day before my birthday passes so slow and the wait for the big day seems to drag on forever. As you can tell, my birthday days have been pretty good for me. Some family might say that is because I am spoiled with lots of gifts. Ok, so some things never change. I am still spoiled, but I can only thank my family and friends for spoiling me. It isn't something you do to yourself. So to Mom and Dad, my sisters and brother, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles and especially Nancy, I say thank you..

I had a great early birthday present on Sunday from my Mom and sisters, Susan and Deb. They came to Manhattan to visit me AND to give me a couple of presents. You see, I was not embellishing in the previous paragraph about how much they spoil me. Actually, the best part of the gift was the time we spent together. We just stayed around the house for a few hours - mostly so Susan could take a nap - and then we went out for a sandwich later in the day. It was the best birthday present they could have given me. Oh yeah, the real presents weren't too bad either!

My day ended on Sunday with a visit from Jackie, Di, and Jeremy. They brought me cookies and and remote controlled 'Dupont 24 - Jeff Gordon' car. At the time of this writing on Monday evening, the cookies are gone and the batteries to the car are dead! Life is good.

Love to all,
Mary Kay