Not Quite the Edge of the Earth

Thank you for the kind emails checking on me. I really didn't fall off of the Edge of the Earth, just the blogosphere. I apologize for being silent, but life has been blasting our family a bit lately and I just haven't had the mental strength to blog about it or to come up with other things to talk about.

Mom, Dad & I at our wedding 9/13/08

Mom's cancer has come back for the 3rd time so we're banding together to beat it away again with prayers, love, and sheer obstinance. Her oncologist is optimistic that the treatment can shrink & hopefully eradicate the mass in her lung. She had two mastectomies in the past fourteen years so we really didn't think the breast cancer could reoccur, but it has so we'll conquer it again...

The hardest part for all of us is that Mom has always been a dynamo, even at almost 72. She is an amazing woman who is still running a reading and remedial studies lab at the school she has worked at for over 35 years. She finally gave up driving the school bus 3 years ago at my sister & I's insistence. Since she has to use oxygen now with this latest development, it has really slowed her down and has been "cramping her style" as she says. It is an adjustment for us all to have to rethink things that we have always taken for granted, such as watering the garden or feeding the barn cats. Such simple daily things really drain her energy and have to be done in increments or turned over to one of us to do for now.

Slam Number 2 was when I asked for time off to assist my mom with all of her doctor visits and treatments (it is the slow time anyway at work), my boss decided to just lay me off instead (aka terminate, but we won't get into that here - I'm a bit bitter & ticked still..)

Then to add insult to injury, we find out we have 30 days to get ourselves and everything moved out of the house and off the property due to change of ownership. Haven't figured out where we're going yet, but moving 2 dogs and (now) 9 cats plus almost an acre of herbs and plants that I refuse to leave behind is going to be interesting!

There are always windows left open when God closes a door (or two or three) so I'm looking at this as the prod in the rear we needed to make some major life changes whether we think we're ready or not. It is hard to be totally upbeat all the time, but wallowing in our woes isn't gonna cut it or get things packed up (ugh). It would be nice to go wallow in the tub with some of my lavender/chamomile bath salts, but I'm out of them at the moment, waaaaaaahhh! Will it never end?? (just kidding, I guess I'll have to do a regular old boring bubble bath instead...options, folks, options - keep your options, your hearts, and your minds open...)

You know, it's a shame that I didn't just make myself sit down and post this before now. I have missed the interaction with so many of you and am realizing just how cathartic this is to be able to share what is going on in our lives, the good and the not so much.. I feel so much better just getting this out there. Thank you near and dear ones.