General update

It's been awhile since I've updated the blog. This is mainly due to my cancer treatment and the kitchen remodel. But I'm all done with chemo now and about 2/3 the way through radiation. My spirits are pretty good. 90 percent of the time, I'm positive, know I have a good prognosis, and that I'm being closely monitored and well-cared for. There's that 10 percent, though, that finds this all scary and worries about my future, that the cancer will come back. I want to be here, see my kid grow up, and grow old with my husband.

Anya has dealt with this very well. She doesn't seem to be worried because every woman she's known with breast cancer is still here. She asks questions and I answer as honestly and appropriately as I can. These days, she mostly teases me because I look pretty silly with fuzz on my head and a big scar on my chest. There haven't been any issues at school or emotional outbursts (other than the norm). I don't know any will come later. I suspect not. She's not really one to bottle up emotions. 

The big cancer stuff aside, things have been plugging along since the last blog update. Our kitchen remodel was pretty painless, thanks to friends who supplied us with meals during chemo, and a comfy setup in the basement where we lived for a few months. We are thrilled with the results and, even after living with the new kitchen for 2.5 months, I wouldn't change a thing. 

 before

after

The Christmas season was nice, not too rushed. I had to miss out on pretty much all social events during chemo, but Chris and Anya got to have some fun. Anya got a speaking part in the school's Christmas performance and did a great job. Maybe Chris has a video of that somewhere. Christmas itself was lovely. Lynn, Steve, and Eileen came over Christmas Eve after mass and we all had dinner together. Christmas morning was just the three of us and then we had dinner at Lynn and Steve's. The big gift for Anya was a metal detector, as she had been asking for one all Fall and we found a good deal on a decent one. New Year's Eve was quiet with just Anya's friend, Eva, for a sleepover. Thanks to Netflix, we had a short dance party countdown at some random, early time, and the girls didn't even notice the actual time on the clock. 

In January, my mom came out for three weeks to help out during my last round of chemo. It was wonderful having her here and we cooked/ate out a lot. Chemo ended up not being quite as bad as I expected, so we spent more time visiting and doing organizational projects than I thought we'd get to. 

At the end of January, we had our annual PEPS winter retreat. We did Suncadia again, since it's fairly close by and there's more to do if the snowpack wasn't great. Turns out the snow was fine. There was lots of sledding, I did a little snowshoeing and lots of walking. It was a great time for all. Since I was just over a week past my last round of chemo, I was a little tired and not quite my normal self. But I was so thrilled to be there and see everyone all together after a few months of having to skip PEPS. 

February wasn't too eventful, other than me starting radiation. It was more of a planning month -- figuring out our summer and making decisions on home improvement projects (living room and backyard deck). 

Last weekend, we got to do something we've all been wanting to for awhile, but couldn't justify the expense: indoor skydiving. Dan (Angie's dad) so generously gave all of the grandkids' families money to do something special and we decided on the skydiving. It was a perfect way to celebrate being done with chemo and have some fun as a family. We all loved it and really want to do it again.