Acceptance, joy, creativity

Acceptance, joy, creativity

Those are the three words Jackie and I have been talking to each other about

Accepting what’s happening to me

Finding joy

And being creative

To help get through each day and make the days positive

There’s so much pain and suffering in the world

Everyday I hear of someone new with cancer

I am not the only one with daily struggles

Some days it’s hard for me to keep a smile on my face

But I do try everyday

My days are very busy

One would think I’m sitting around the house doing nothing

The days go by very fast

Sometimes it seems like I get nothing done

If I have an appointment in Bozeman

It usually takes up the whole day

Last week on Tuesday I had an appointment

With my therapist at 11:45 am

In order for me to be there on time

I had to move pretty fast all morning

So I felt like I was rushing

That is hard on me

But that’s my time slot

I always feel better afterwards

Tracy took me so Jackie could go to Jim’s memorial service

Even though we have this new van

To get me around in my wheelchair

The trips are very hard on me

I haven’t figured out how to be comfortable

In the wheelchair in the car

I got home at 4pm very tired

We had a dinner party planned for 6:30

With employees who I hadn’t seen in quite awhile

Lindsie brought the dinner

Courtney brought the wine

Ashley brought dessert, Pavlova

Ben and Mackenzie, the newlyweds brought wine and smiles

My angel Candice arrived just in time for dinner

I was nervous for the party but it was awesome

I drank wine for the first time in a long time

Courtney brought a great line-up

It was hard to resist

On Thursday I had occupational and speech therapy

And my older brother Harold and his wife Cyndy

Were flying in from Chicago and meeting us at the hospital

It was another rushed morning

And hard appointments

Harold and Cyndy were in the waiting room as we left

At first sight I burst into tears

Last the time I’d seen Harold was at my father’s funeral

Three days after my diagnosis

 

On Friday night we ventured to the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center

My first appearance in public in quite awhile

Before the concert we had a Shabbat dinner with Candice and her boyfriend Tim

Cyndy made challah bread from scratch

The bread had to rise twice and she had to braid it

It was beautiful to watch and it was delicious to eat

The dinner was so nice but too short

We had to get to WMPAC by 7:30

We went to see Hiromi: The Trio Project

They put me in the front row where Hiromi could make eyes at me

While being crazy on the piano

It was an amazing show

I saw lots of people I hadn’t seen in quite awhile

It was hard for me to talk

But I smiled a lot

On Saturday Jackie went to the Headwater’s competition

To watch Howie nail his ski run

Harold and Cyndy kept their eyes on me

We got outside for a walk

And enjoyed the neighborhood

Saturday evening Andrew and his girlfriend Erin arrived

On Sunday morning Cyndy made two more loaves of challah

Jackie went to watch Howie freeride ski

Harold and Cyndy left in the afternoon

It was a great visit

Then Andrew and Erin took over

So my days are full

I smile as often as I can

I try to accept my fate

Enjoy all the people who surround me

And gather strength from all their love

To create something positive