One year blogversary

I've been on a team training trip for Spring Break the last two weeks. Sometimes, it is better than it sounds, but most of the time it's pretty great in that we a) get to be out of the cold, and b) focus on only rowing without the distraction of having to work around classes. In general, everyone is more relaxed, coaches and athletes alike, and we can really get down to rowing.

On a trip like this, there is some forced downtime between practices, and the days tend to run into and over one another. Saturdays and Sundays are just like any weekday, and none of the weekdays are distinguishable from one another either.  With as much internal focus as I could muster, I forced myself to remember my sister's birthday as well as the anniversary of Max acquiring us as his humans. I thought I had all the major dates covered, so I was a little surprised to see a Happy Anniversary cupcake in my inbox one day. "We hope it was a great year and look forward to sharing many more." It turns out, I hadn't really missed anything - it was congratulations on the one year anniversary of my first attempt at this blog. Although my first post here wasn't until March 30, I had set up another account before that. 

Confirming that date for myself meant going back to read that first post. I had to stop before the first paragraph. Having just made it through all the one-year-ago-todays - that week of appointments finding and biopsying the lump, the confirmation of cancer, and the medical team meeting during spring break 2014, and all overlapping with the one year out follow up appointments left me a little more worn thin than I expected. 

As squirmy as it made me to reread part of it, I'm still glad I did it, and I'm even more impressed that others followed so closely. For me, keeping this journal has been a tremendous help and source of control. (Thank you GM for the recommendation!) The amount of introspection required to write a post keeps me centered and on track. I highly recommend some similar form of a journal of what's going on should you find yourself in similar shoes. Aside from keeping folks up to date, it allows me to get things off my chest, and to clear my brain of dwelling on the negatives as much. 

So happy anniversary to the blog. Happy anniversary to me! I am looking forward to sharing a good year ahead!

Kicking cancer's behind

Today is my first check up with imaging since the end of treatment. My mammogram is in the morning and I'll meet with my surgeon this afternoon. In between, I have lunch planned with a friend. It's a great day to confirm the kicking if cancer's behind. 

Surprisingly, I slept well last night likely due to the pleasant distraction of the Dartmouth Friends meeting in New York City which had me traveling the last two days. It was good to be tired and to be able to sleep! And, to keep busy or at least occupied. 

On a day like today and the days leading up to it, I find myself reflecting on where I am now. We just adopted a rescue which falls squarely into my thinking now - why wait. Is there ever a perfect time and who knows what tomorrow will bring. (It brought us Brady, a wriggly 6 month old french bulldog.)

I also think about my friend who goes in today, too, for an 18 month check up, my friend who confided in me over the weekend about his newly diagnosed cancer and when he will tell his children, and my friend who has more testing the end of the month before starting a clinical trial. I'm thankful for all my friends who are survivors. 

And, I am still feeling pretty lucky. I got this message from one of my athletes this morning, "GOOD LUCK LINDA!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you indeed have kicked cancer's behind!!!!" That's the plan, H, that's the plan. 

A quick reminder about my "on the bike" effort to kick cancer's behind more broadly. I'll be riding in the PMC to support research and finding a cure. You can help too by visiting my donor page at http://www2.pmc.org/profile/LM0272

Thank you!

OK, off to confirm the demise.