A fall Weekend!

Fall is here and we spent the weekend enjoying it! For the first time in a year I finally feel back in synch with the seasons. Last fall was a whirlwind of diagnostic testing and the beginnings of chemo, winter was more chemo and the start of trips to Maryland, spring started early because we weren't in New England and summer...well summer was recovery time. I'm still recovering from the year but at least I understand the calendar again. Oddly it feels a little bit like having some more control. Clearly I have no control over the seasons but I can control what decorations to put out or when to buy pumpkins (never before October 1) or helping a 3 year old come up with what she wants to be for halloween! Right now I think I may just be loving fall and what it means to me more than I ever have before.

Yesterday Grace and I drove into the Boston Common to see my sister and the Team in Training Team that she helps to coach during one of their practices. The is the TNT Boston Winter team that I am fortunate enough to be the "Honored Hero" for. The runners are training for various races and thus doing various length runs but Grace was ready to clap and jump up and down each time a runner came by or stopped for a quick drink of water. It was great fun to watch her be involved as well!

Last night Adam was cooking Jambalaya and since you can't make good jambalaya in small quantities we invited our good friends and neighbors over to join us for dinner! What a fun time spent together!

Today, was our first time back in our church in almost a year. And what a welcome we received. It is easy to forget or take for granted in "normal" life the communities that are around us but one of the many things that I have taken from this year is not to forget or take for granted those communities. Our church community sent cards, made dinners, emailed, followed my progress on our Caring Bridge Blog, and prayed...a lot. A huge thank you to them for it all, especially the smiles this morning and the hugs and the "it is so nice to see you here". It was a very special reception.

After church we decided to take a walk to a nearby restaurant and then head to the carousel for a ride on the horses! A bit of a blustery fall day (I actually stopped to buy a second sweatshirt from a local shop so I wouldn't freeze on the way home). There is not much like riding a carousel with a 3 year old carousel connoisseur on the horse next to you with your husband standing between to remember how wonderful life is!

This afternoon we were visited by a photographer from the Patriot Ledger to take "natural looking" family shots for the story that is being written about me and the Team Elizabeth Run/Walk coming up on October 24th (You still have plenty of time to register at racemenu.com/TEAMELIZABETH). It was a little weird to pretend to be doing normal things while a camera is flashing in your face but truly the look on Grace's face was priceless. She just didn't get why this strange man was in our house with a big camera and why on earth he would want to take pictures of us reading a book!

Tonight for dinner we met good friends of ours, also in the midst of the nightmare that is cancer. Sometimes it is easiest to spend time with people who "get it" and other times it can be much harder. Our paths with cancer have taken very different courses and the emotions and feelings that go with that are often hard to reconcile. This morning in church our minister talked about being able to be in situations where there is bad and good together and that no matter how difficult it is, it is important to recognize both as valuable and a part of life. (He said it much better than I just wrote that, but I suppose you get the idea). However, regardless of the differences in our cancer nightmares we are friends and I hope friends for a long time. It was wonderful to see them tonight and to be together.

Please remember today or tomorrow to say a prayer for someone, anyone who is struggling. As I have often said you do not need to pray to God (if that is not what you believe) but find your space and comfort and think about and send positive thoughts in the direction of another.