Saturday, June 16, 2018

Still Here




In spite of all outward appearances, this blog has been picked clean by turkey buzzards who circled over its dead carcass for months. is not yet dead--nor am I!  (Click for sound of applause.)


After many months of wearing a bath robe all day resting and focusing on getting better, I finally am.






As of this moment in time, my scans have all come back clear of Hodgkins lymphoma, and if all goes well/clear for the next two years, I am pretty much good to go--at least on the lymphoma front. One of the unintentional benefits of doing so many scans is you discover things you didn't know you had, such as an ascending aortic aneurysm.  For now, nobody seems to be concerned about that, so I'm pretending like I don't need to be either.  I've definitely sharpened my denial skills in the past year, that's for sure.

In addition, I gained weight and lost hair, sadly. But I can work on losing the weight and finding the hair.  Actually, it doesn't sound very good to find hair, so let's say that the hair will grow back instead.  There.  Better.

Although I've been away from this blog for a while, lots has happened.  For example:
  • In the spring of this year, this dead blog turned ten years old!
  • My son graduated from UVA and is now living in Costa Rica working for Global Leadership Adventures as a camp counselor of sorts.  
  • My second child completed the second year of architecture school at UVA with good grades.
  • My father, although weak, is back to cutting grass and chopping wood and conducting perimeter checks of Waverly Lane on his golf cart. All good.
  • My mother, not without some health scares of her own, has had good test results lately.
  • I am back to work four days a week but squeezed in an End of Chemo Celebration Trip to Moab, Utah, with my blog friend Lauren.  We went on a jet boat tour of the Colorado River, went on a slickrock jeep tour, ziplined, and toured Arches National Park as well as Dead Horse State Park.  I highly recommend a trip to Moab for an unforgettable experience.
My intention is to return to blogging somewhat regularly, but it all hinges on my home internet working properly.  My internet is free of charge thanks to a deal my parents worked out with a local provider who put a tower behind their barn.  It's been spotty service at best here lately.  But assuming I have time to take pictures and my internet is up and running I hope to get back into a routine of some sort here on this crusty old blog.  

In the meantime, thank you for reading.




7 comments:

Linda said...

Glad you are back! My blog has been on a back burner for a while and I have no excuse. Very glad you are feeling well enough to be back at work. Continue to take care of you. 'See you again here soon.

Chris and Bill said...

So glad that your blog is alive and well. We have missed you. We are off sailing for a few weeks. See when we return.

Snippety Gibbet said...

Glad to see you are back blogging and your health is improving. Oddly, I am in the county this weekend, renting an AirBnB in Susan. My sister's family is staying on the North River near Bohannon. I love Mathews.

jwd said...

As an ex-Mathews resident, I occasionally checked your blog, for the photos of course. The rambling discourses were just fodder between the photos. But I saw the diagnosis awhile back and had been praying for you, while the blog was quiet. Happy for you that news is good. But I may continue to pray, cause it can't hurt.


Glad to hear you got to Moab. Spent an enjoyable week canoeing on the Green River, near Moab. That is until the flash flood hit us on the last day on the river. But Arches was cool, after we survived the flood. I mean Arches was "cool", even though it was about 100 degrees every day. We even got to Four Corners, but it was closed. I didn't know you could close geography, but someone did. Flash floods, high temperatures, closed geography but a good time.

Meg McCormick said...

I liked those oyster pics but I'm really happy you posted an update. Glad to hear you are on the mend!!

Dghawk said...

So glad you and your family are doing well. I may not post, but I do check on you from time to time and continually send healing prayers and strength.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Thank you all so much! I haven't even been on this nearly-defunct blog to see these comments until this evening. I'm such a bad blogger, but I intend to change. Thanks for your kind words.