My Life Savers

These 3 people (along with all of you) saved my life. Liz, my amazing nurse navigator, has become a dear, dear friend. She is so incredibly beautiful inside and out. She walked me through the hard stuff and eased my anxiety in ways no one else could. If I had to get cancer to meet her then I am glad I did. Dr. DiCarlo, my oncologist, is pure genius. He is eloquent, funny, positive, and so incredibly smart - he is truly amazing (this is why I call him Dr. Amazing). He has an awesome family too (just met his wife and son today and fell in love with them). I get to see Dr. Amazing as long as I live here and he keeps practicing here..... sorry Dr. D you are stuck with me :) Dr. Rocco is my surgeon but oh so much more than that. Her knowledge was one thing but how she immediately cared for our whole family was what sold us on her. I call her Dr. Wonderful because that is how I feel after seeing her. She too has become a good friend and I am happy I get to see her on a regular basis now too.

These 3 shining stars are so bright I find it hard to see when they are around (if you look carefully you can see their halos). We all happened to be at the Relay for Life event today and they all walked the survivor lap with me, John and the kids. What an amazing feeling - being surrounded by such angels. It must be hard doing such a good job for God but these 3 make it look easy.

Life moves on and there will be other patients who need your miracles. You three will ALWAYS be in my prayers. I will always be grateful - you gave up so much of your life so I could have mine. Thank you for being such incredible examples of what humans should be like. I love you all.

Squandering

I have said before that God has gifted each of us with unique talents. I consider a talent something that comes naturally and easily for you as compared to someone else. These gifts are so precious and we all have them. I think it is important to use these gifts to the best of our ability - that is why He gave them to us. If we don't we just let them sit and rot and contribute nothing. We squander them. Sometimes using those talents to the best of our ability involves doing hard things or taking risks but I think that is what God had planned for us. He wants to see how far we can take what He has given. He wants us to know how much He loves us and how great those gifts are. What are your talents?

Customer Service

I had two instances happen just this week where I observed poor customer service. I am not a big complainer but I don't think there is any excuse for a bad attitude while "serving" others at work. If you can't put your troubles aside then don't come to work. Everyone is entitled to a bad day and I know things happen throughout the day but I think we are all capable of treating others with respect and kindness regardless of what is going on in our lives. Maybe I spent one too many days behind the counter with disgruntled people on the other side - but I think as a server it is our job to make things better - not worse.

The first instance was just an observation - it didn't happen to me. Basically there was a misunderstanding about how much something cost. Instead of trying to work it out - the "server" basically was rude and said "tough". The customers then proceeded to walk out the door upset. Now what good did that do? They will now go around telling everyone how they were treated at this establishment and give it a bad reputation. I can think of at least 5 different ways to find a solution to that problem where everyone would come out happy.

The second was a couple of nights ago. We went out to dinner with my in-laws and were expecting a nice evening. The restaurant was a bit more expensive than what we were expecting but we were all OK with that - it would be a special time with them. Our server was pleasant enough - not overly cheerful but that was OK. Our food took a long time to come out and when he brought it 3 of our meals (that were the same) were over cooked. He asked how everything tasted and we decided to tell him since the meals were pricey. He walked away without saying a word and then the manager came over. The manager was very accommodating and replaced our meals along with comping 2 of them. We then did not see our waiter again. Instead of coming over and making sure things were remedied and taking care of us he chose to ignore us completely.

Both of these cases are just examples of the golden rule - treat others as you would like to be treated. How easily this is forgotten.

Hanging on....

Sorry it has been awhile from my last entry. I have a few things in the fire cooking - more on that later - and had to do our taxes (nothing like waiting until the last minute).

I started to re-read an old favorite book of mine and it reminded me of something. We all have this crazy desire to hold on. Hold onto our things. Hold onto control. Hold onto this life. It is easy to see how we might get stuck, clinging to what we know. Just like in Nemo - when he is trapped in the whale's mouth - we are afraid of what will happen if we let go. I think it is so freeing to think about riding the wave - seeing where it might take us. The hard part is opening your mind up enough to feel the wave - the current - the nudge. The hard part is allowing ourselves to be lifted up and carried to the next adventure. Just imagine all of the things we might get to see or experience along the way......

Work in Progress....

Well, I now have a file on my computer with this title. I am starting my book. I am going to try and incorporate my raw blog entries from when I was going through treatment without editing them much but I also think I am far enough away to add perspective and the big picture. I have been procrastinating on this project because I really didn't know where to start. I think that is why we typically don't do things.... we don't know where to start. Really all that is required is to start something. Who cares if it is right = eventually it will work out and the good part is that you are diving in. Any projects on your back burner that need some fuel?? Wish me luck!

"There's no place like home"

We are lucky enough to have an amazing news anchor here in my home town. Her name is Jeanette Trompeter and she has a very fun segment that she calls "There's no place like home". In fact awhile back I was featured in one of these segments as she talked about the amazing support this community provides - although we are small, we are mighty.

This is spring break for my children. Most of their friends have ventured off into vacation land - Hawaii, Yosemite, Palm Springs etc. We decided to not go anywhere. We thought about taking a trip up to San Francisco or Monterey or maybe heading south to Santa Barbara - but when it came right down to it....why? We have everything we could ever want and more right here. We spent 2 full days at the beach where they could boogie board, grab a hot dog and a shave ice and admire the view and soak up the sun. We spent a day cruising around town and enjoying a delicious lunch. We saw a great movie yesterday as the rain fell. Everywhere we go we see a familiar face, a kind smile, someone saying "oh no, please - you go first". Why would we ever leave?


Last night a dear friend of mine held a fundraiser at his hair salon. All of the money went to a family whose mother/wife is on her third round of chemotherapy for breast cancer. The line went around the block - over $10,000 was raised. That is just good people looking out for other good people.

I am proud to live here. I am blessed to live here. This town is part of our family. If I never set foot outside of this county again I will still be a happy person. There truly is "no place like home".

Singin the surgery blues....

You would think that after everything I would have completely learned patience.... nope. Not one bit. It must be human nature. I am THRILLED with the results of surgery (can't quite stop looking at them) and I don't want to do anything to mess them up. Doc said on Tuesday that I needed to wait at least 3 weeks for any type of impact exercise. I guess I should have known that - expected it - and should have no problem taking the time off..... but I am dying here. I am sure you feel extremely sorry for me - get to spend quality time with my family, catch up on my to do list, enjoy my blissful cancer-free life - I just can't work out. Exercise is my drug and I am completely addicted. COMPLETELY ADDICTED. I guess if I had to pick one thing to be addicted to this would be a good choice. Better than food, or cigarettes or alcohol. I will try and enjoy my leisurely life and look forward to that incredible high I will get with an increased heart rate and sweat dripping down my forehead.

Happy!

Surgery went very, very well yesterday. Dr. Miracle spent about 4 hours perfecting me and I couldn't be more thrilled - his talent truly amazes me. I feel extremely blessed to be in such great hands. I will have to take good care of these new Ta-tas and baby them for awhile - no down dogs or push ups until I am completely heeled. That will be hard but so worth it. Thank you Dr. C!