Books are magic
“I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.”
J.K. Rowling
Case in point: let’s talk about that uneaten doughnut. With Pink Frosting.
Earth Day
It’s easy to get jaded about the state of the world, and what humans are doing to it: pollution, war, greed, disregard… but there is so much more that’s good about our world.
Sometimes, we just need to step outside to refresh, and reset our perspectives.
John Burroughs
Henri Matisse
May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.
Edward Abbey
Nature gives me hope
Kids give me hope
“seems to me, it ain’t the world that’s so bad, but what we’re doin’ to it”
~ Louis Armstrong
Love, Baby, Love… Yeah….
I hope you can take a moment and get outside to enjoy the beauty and magic.
Happy Earth Day
Shrine
Every day we take a long walk around our new neighborhood, and every day I find a new reason to fall in love with our new home.
Today, we stumbled across this little shrine
A plaque inside the shrine had the following invitation:
Leave your thoughts, prayers and wishes.
Twice a year they will be burned and your intentions will join the universe.
I also enjoyed the inscriptions on the benches:
The Big C and Me: My Cancer Story
My Cancer Story
My Cancer Story is a collection of my blog posts and articles about my cancer experience over the years. I decided to pull them all together into one place to make them easy to find.
This turned out to be a much bigger projected than I expected. I’ve cataloged more than thirty here so far, and there are many more to add.
This is a work in progress. I will continue adding the posts already completed as well as the new posts to come, so check back from time to time. Tags are coming soon to allow for searching by topic.
It has been an eye opening exercise to go back through these posts and see how my attitude, perspective, writing style, and my life in general have all evolved over time.
My hope is that these pieces will provide someone with cancer some measure of hope, comfort, and useful information to help them along this difficult road. Even if you don’t have cancer, you just might find this story interesting.
My Life with Cancer
Living with Dying
Thoughts on friendship and cancer.
We hold on to each other, we revel in memories, and we pop a bottle of champagne to toast your memory while flipping cancer the bird. We embrace those who are still with us, and carry forward the memories of those who have gone before us.
How Comparing Pain Multiplies Suffering
No one should feel shame for experiencing pain. Pain is not a competition; it’s real and it’s valid.
Taking Back October
My friends are dying, and it’s not for lack of awareness.
Breast Cancer Awareness month can be a big money making machine, but make sure your donations actually make a difference
In the Moment
Contemplating a cancerversary (anniversary of cancer diagnosis) and embracing moments of pure joy.
The cancer experience changes over time.
Ultimate Blog Party 2014 – Why I Blog
I look forward to the Ultimate Blog Party every year. I love making new connections, and I make a few new friends each time around.
I started my first blog in 2001, and this one has been going since 2004. That’s a decade. It’s hard, at times, not to compare myself to the celebrity bloggers, and wonder why I haven’t hit the big time. But their stories are not mine, and my story is not theirs.
So, what is my story?
The answer to that question is continuously evolving. Right now, I am the mother of a 5 year old, wife of a 38 year old, former cancer patient in the midst of reconstruction, and a full-time college student who will, if everything goes right and I actually pass these classes, graduate in 6 weeks with a Bachelors degree in social sciences.
Blogging hasn’t been my top priority lately.
But I love blogging. I cherish the friendships I made through this medium. I cherish the product, this collection of stories, that resulted from these years at this blog. I didn’t start out with this intent, but when the reality of my own mortality was shoved in my face, I was comforted with the knowledge that I had at least something of myself to leave behind for my then infant daughter. I don’t plan on dying any time soon, but that idea stays with me as I write. So in the 4 years since my cancer diagnosis, this blog has become something more. It is a love letter, to my daughter, to my husband, my friends, the world, to life itself.
Want to know more?
Here are a few posts to get you started:
Cancerversary – thoughts on the anniversary of my cancer diagnosis, and my life right now.
The Camera Bag – and an epiphany on photography and being the recipient of a random act of kindness
A relearning how to dream after cancer blog – Cancer trauma is more than physical
Bloggers at Work – a day in the life of a Mommy Blogger
Living in the Gap – “We don’t get practice time, and then go out and live our lives after we’ve perfected ourselves. We go out and try things, see if they work, we fall down, we get up, we embarrass ourselves, we don’t die of embarrassment – but we don’t get to practice life without an audience.”
Just Breathe – “As long as you have breath, you have this moment.”
Let’s Connect
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