November 22nd, 2008

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Haaapppy Holidays!!!!

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

So, the holiday season is upon us, and I’m loving it! I love riding around town, looking at the decorations (yes, even though it’s not Thanksgiving yet, Katie…and yes, I have started listening to Christmas music already!).

OK, it’s now Saturday afternoon, and I just put up some pics for you to enjoy. My mom and I are having a wonderful time with Maya and her mom, and Laura got in last night too! We plan on going to “Joey’s” for an early dinner, and I’m really looking forward to all the company, and of course the good eats. Maybe we’ll get in some more “Blockus” too!! That is an awesome game, if you haven’t yet had the chance to play. I think my mom and I need to work on our trash talk though, because Maya insists it’s a very integral part of playing. We’re just too sweet….we would never do such a thing!! :) hahahaha

My mom and I both agree that my energy is supersized right now, so I feel almost normal. I don’t know if it’s the steroids doing their thing (they are getting rid of the rash too which is good!), or if it’s maybe a combo of the steroids (prednisone) and the fact that I am indeed getting stronger. When I walk, my ankles don’t feel like they wobble as much, and I don’t necessarily want to be sitting on the couch or my bed….imagine that!!! I keep reminding myself that I am still a patient, and prednisone makes my blood levels seem higher than they are, when they really actually put me more prone to infection. I am excited, worried and triumphant in one breath. Excited to be feeling well, excited for the holidays, coming home, my future…worried because the nagging thought “What if it comes back” will forever be there…and triumphant because I feel in my heart that I have won. With Laura’s help and your support, I really and honestly feel that. I feel almost ready to take on all the challenges that come with being healthy again–finding a job, organizing my life, being there for others. At other times, as I wrote the other day, I become overwhelmed by that thought, but in this very moment, I’m looking out at a beautiful church sitting up on Capitol Hill behind the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, admiring the late rays making it the brightest building in view right now…I’m looking forward to spending time with my mom, Laura, Maya, Momma Nakamura, and I’m happy.

Holidays always help to get me in the right frame of mind too…I know, they can be stressful too, but I’m not one to complain too much when the music and ornaments start appearing in stores just after Halloween…bring on the joyousness, I say!! You would be amazed how many little decorations and quiet touches you notice at the clinic or here in the Pete Gross House, things to make the patients and their families smile. So it really is the little things in life, huh?

Love and an early Merry Christmas (oops and Happy Thanksgiving!) from Seattle

Enjoy the photos!!!

Julie