aLive @ Stage 4!

Today is Friday.  The last day of the work week.  It's been a long week, but it seems to have gone by quickly.  My normal day starts at 5:30am when my first alarm sounds.  I snooze it once or twice, then either get up or wait until my 6:00am alarm sounds.  I can't get up any later than that or I'll for sure be late for work.  Shower, make-up, letting the dog out and back in, feeding the dog, making sure I remember my lunch and maybe a favorite coffee mug (not to mention my teeth; I've forgotten them twice 😂).  By 7:05, I am hopefully on the road.  I work only about ten minutes from my house, and I don't have to be at work until 7:40am, but I like to get there early for a few reasons.  It ensures that I get a handicapped spot, which I need for the access aisle.  It's difficult to get the walker in and out of the van in a regular spot.  Also, it gets me up to my classroom before the hundreds of students arrive.  This means less ...

A while ago, I applied for assistance from Rebuilding Charles County/Christmas in April to have work done around the house.  They are scheduled to come over this coming Monday (MLK day of service) to start the drywall patching process, and the organize the garage in anticipation of wheelchair ramp improvements.  They, hopefully, will be coming back in the future to do a bit more. One of the places that needs drywall patching is in my bedroom closet.  So, in anticipation of the work being done, I have been slowly taking everything out of the closet.  We have a portable clothes rack, which is holding just about half of what was in the closet.  The other half has been in the hard-to-access part of the closet since I moved into the bedroom on the main floor of the house.  Instead of buying another portable clothing rack, I think I will systematically go through these pieces.  I haven't worn these things in almost four years; don't think there's much of a...

It's just after 10:00am on Christmas morning.  Jimmy and I are sitting in the living room watching the Today show relaxing after a long day yesterday, Christmas Eve. We hosted the family Christmas party this year.  Jimmy's brothers and sisters (and their families) gather together on Christmas Eve every year.  Every year, as people get married, have babies, the crowd gets bigger.   We take turns hosting.  We haven't hosted in a few years; other siblings were taking our turn because they didn't feel we were up to it.  They were right, we weren't.  We weren't really up to it this year, either, but I felt compelled anyway.  I don't know, I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I wonder if this will be my last Christmas.  My doctors tell me that I have years left yet, but with a terminal illness, you can't help but wonder.  Anyway, I felt that I needed to host this year. We started preparing a few weeks ago.  I'm not gonna lie --...

The day started off like any other routine medical day.  A friend was able to drive me to the hospital for my appointments.  That's important because, as my blood pressure has been high when taken at the doctor's office, I'm supposed to take my anti-anxiety med before I leave the house, so that my blood pressure shows normal.  I can't drive when I take it. We left the house at 8:00am, hit a bit of traffic (not unusual), and pulled up to the hospital at about 9:20 for my 10:00 appointment.  I checked in at the clinic for my appointment with my oncologist, then sat in the waiting room.  I alternated between knitting and closing my eyes.  I was called back to a room just after 10:00.  The wonderful girl who takes my vitals (always has a smile and a hug) apologized for the wait and told me that they were running behind.  Not surprising, and no big deal.  Sometimes they run early, some times right on time, sometimes late.  All depends. I ha...

People have asked how they can be of help to us, so I thought I'd list some ideas out here. Most everyone has been so incredible (yep, I said most; some friends have disappeared, but those of you reading this -- incredible). People surprise me every day with kindness shown. It's phenomenal. There are some specific things that we could use. Some more than others. Yes, I know it's been three years for me and two for hubby, but neither of our illnesses is going to go away until we die. Our health is going to do nothing but deteriorate; neither of us is going to get better. It's incredibly difficult, having changed so much. So much that neither of us can do anymore, or do well. We both move so much slower now than we did even last year. We have to sit and rest constantly during chores. We've applied with Rebuilding Charles County/Christmas in April for assistance, but I'm really not clear on exactly what they're going to do for us. I believe that...

It is now the Sunday before Thanksgiving, in the year 2018; it is just past 4:30pm.  I am currently sitting in a very comfortable red cushioned chair inside Radio City Music Hall in New York City, awaiting a performance from the Rockettes.  Jimmy, Jimmy, and David are with me.  I am so very excited to see this show, and having my boys here with me.  I remember as a child watching the Rockettes on television at home with my parents.  I'm feeling a bit nostalgic here.  My parents would have loved to see them in person. Let me back up a bit to tell you how we got here. It has been a whirlwind of a few days.  We're in New York taking part in a retreat vacation provided by a wonderful organization, Inheritance of Hope .  The trip started at 7:30 yesterday morning when we left our house to make our way to the train station.  We took the train from Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC.  It was so much easier getting through the trai...

So, I think you all know that there's this wonderful lady out there who provides spa services, complimentary, to cancer patients ( Joy Johnson, of Nails & Faces of Joy Spa ).  Today, she was interviewed on our local morning news program.  I was with her, as a client who receives these services. I was a little stressed about driving from home to Arlington in rush hour, before sunrise.  Luckily, the remnants of Hurricane Michael passed through overnight, so it wasn't raining.  I left my house at 5:15am, to ensure I'd be there on time even if something happened to mess up traffic.  I made it there in about an hour.  So, I set my alarm for 7:30 in case I dozed off, and rested in the van in the parking garage until it was time to go up. So, finally it was time to go upstairs.  We met up in the lobby, checked in at the front desk, and waited for our escort, Nakea Simon.  She was super nice.  She took us, and some other guests, up to the gre...