Happy Wednesday, everyone!!

So it’s around 6:15 PM Pacific time, and I’m sitting here on the couch, doin’ a lil bloggin’ and eagerly awaiting my show, “Wheel of Fortune”…unfortunately they have not yet put my wheel watcher’s id up there yet, so I haven’t won anything, but I’m telling ya….if you get my mom and I up there, we would be amaaaaaazing!!!

Remember how I used to do a little dancin’ while getting ready for my day? Well, I would like to announce that the dancing has begun again, and I think it is quite a good sign! I also noticed that my ankles feel a lot stronger when I walk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not doing miles, and I still have that magnet/couch/bed thing going on, but I’m feeling good. My rash is a lot better, my eyes are less puffy, and was that a flash of my old self I saw in the mirror there? There are a couple annoying things I’ll just go ahead and get off my chest. TMI, perhaps, but annoying nonetheless. So usually, I pluck or wax my eyebrows and my upper lip (even though everyone swears to me there’s nothing there—once you get it in your head that you have hair on your face, you’ve got to have it removed!!) Given my platelets, I was not able to pluck or wax, so I innocently grabbed a nose-hair clipper to shave those areas….word to the wise, DO NOT DO THAT!!! Especially if you’re taking Cyclosporin (the GVHD drug)…according to my nurse, it makes you furry. EWWWWW!!! So now I have little stubbles all over my eyebrows (that I try to hide with my glasses), some on my lip and —-this is the worst—-even some on my chin!!!! She told me the best thing to do is wait because it won’t last forever, and pretty soon I’ll be able to pluck or wax. Now I know this seems like a little bitty problem compared to other things I should be worrying about right now, but I still firmly believe that something good should happen when you get cancer…like instantly your skin is beautifully clear, your hair is thick and gorgeous, and you’re a model or something. Seems fair, right?

Our favorite neighbors, Mary and Yo, left today to go back home to Florida, and we will really miss them! It was always a brighter day if we ran into them either at the clinic, here at the apartments or anywhere in between. We miss you two, but I hope you’re happy and safe and getting some rest in your own place. We will definitely be in touch!!

To be honest, I haven’t gotten the full-blown homesick effect yet, mostly because I hear from everyone so often, and so many have made the trip out here to visit. I just take it day by day and somehow we get to day 43 post-transplant—yup, 43! Can you believe it? In fact, I was thinking today, in some ways, I will be sad to go home. Let me see if I can explain why….when I’m here, I feel like I’m at least a part of the city even though I may be looking out at it from a car/apartment/clinic window lots of the time. Something is always going on, I have lots to watch, and I don’t have to work. Hmm…that didn’t come out the way I wanted it to. In January, I will be ecstatic to head back to VA and back to my own home, but then the old routine kind of rears its ugly head again….we have to drive further to get to the hospital or doctor’s office, I will be mostly stuck in the house without much contact with others, unless they come out to see me. I will, of course, see the owls though! They better be waiting to greet me! The newness and order of our apartment in Seattle will return to the stresses we have connected to everyday life and our home in VA. It’s all just overwhelming. Let alone my job prospects (and when I will be allowed to look for one!) and my facial hair issues. hahaha just had to get that last one in there!!! Does any of that make sense?

I guess what it winds down to is that I like being the center of attention, I love the visits, I want people around me, so leaving this world here (and it is like a different world-the SCCA world) makes me nervous. I will figure out a way to get around this ’cause I know I don’t want to stay out here forever!

Anywayyyy, I’m doing well….just sharing my deep thoughts. It’s now 8:30, and my mom and I are watching “Frasier”…I’m looking forward to “Private Practice” later!

Hope everyone is doing well!!

Love from Seattle,

Julie

PS My mom just read this blog, and I thought I better try and clarify my feelings some more. As I’ve said in earlier posts, I can’t wait to come home to see all of you, my little pups and my kitty! I am excited, I’m just a little nervous and overwhelmed at the same time. My only job is to get well over here, but once I’m home, all the usual stresses come along with day-to-day life. The schedule will be changed, and well, I guess it’s just a transition. It was hard coming out and getting used to the schedule, and it will be hard going back home to readjust. I’ll try to come up with better wording for my next post.