A Typically Good Day, Considering…

Before I discuss what a typically good day could possibly be for a chemo patient, let me first give an update on Susan…The news was as we expected…just get checked every six months. I think that’s good because if anything goes awry with her, the doctors will be right on it…there won’t be time for growth and spreading, etc…anything that might show up will be addressed quickly. No pressure on my other three daughters, but what are you waiting for?…. So, what’s a typically good day for a chemo patient who has one breast and no hair?…well, it’s at the end of the cycle of the most recent chemo treatment, which was almost three weeks ago for me. The next chemo treatment is looming, so life must be enjoyed these last few days preceding it. Today I worked with my old friend/new boss Robert (Well, I work with him everyday now, but this post is about today). I am in such a different world now than I was at Goolsby; and there is a learning curve that I am enjoying. Let’s see…there’s dual language, Title I, Reading First, year-round schedules, etc. In the last week, two teachers who were supposed to start the year with us have decided not to after all. Scrambling to hire at this time of the year has proven to be interesting and challenging. I was quite sure going into this job that Robert’s and my philosophies and opinions were very much alike; and that has turned out to be true from nitty gritty details to hiring staff. Last night I left my car at the night drop at Ford Country for this morning’s 8:30 appointment. This was the only down side of today. The service rep called to say that they would not be getting to it until at least Friday, maybe Monday. I’m not sure how a Thursday 8:30 appointment turns into getting looked at on Friday or maybe Monday, but I went and picked up my car. That was annoying. Now I’m going to take it to a competitor on Saturday, which I really don’t have time for…anyway, even this annoyance cannot truly get to me when I have a much more scary annoyance (red devil poison chemo treatment) coming up on Tuesday. So…why today was good… I talked to two of my favorite people on the phone: Ada and Laurie. I didn’t think I could talk to Ada without crying because my last memory of her was hugging her goodbye in tears as I left Goolsby on my last day. But, I did talk to her, and I didn’t cry; and it made me feel good just to hear her voice again. I also talked to Laurie, and that made me feel good, too, especially since I’ll be seeing her at an all-day reading association event on Saturday. What else was good today? Grandpa had to pick up Jason and then pick me up so they both got to see my office in my new place; that was good. I hope Jason enjoyed seeing the newspaper article about him on my wall…the one in which he was the Geography Bee winner for two years straight at his school. Also, I talked on the phone to Susan twice today (O.K., since I started writing this, she called me again, so make that three times, even better). John called me; he’s very special. J.J. called me, too; he is also very special. He talked about starting kindergarten; and, once again, I grilled him on could he write his name, the letters of the alphabet, and numbers. He says he sometimes likes to write Js backwards, but I told him a lot of little kids do that. I asked him how Ana was, and he asked if I wanted to talk to her. After, “Hi, Grandma,” I don’t know what she said. J.J. quickly took the phone back from her and said, “I don’t know what she’s talking about!” See that special connection we have? We think a lot a like. Then I talked to Krista, and she had some great stories to tell me. I can’t repeat them here; and actually won’t even tell the topic right now. I might add that this whole week has been quite good…It started on Sunday celebrating Jay’s birthday at his house. Teresa came to town to work at the Henderson office one day, and we got to spend the afternoon together. We lunched, and then we were going to shop; but we only got as far as my four new pair of shoes…all “cute” Sketchers to comfortably get around the huge Harmon campus. Also this week I heard from Becky, and Mary, and Carol (a new friend made during the summer, a student in one of the classes I taught at UNLV); and I got caught up on Little ‘Ole Me’s recent dating escapades. When I was talking to Ada, Bobbie also said hi in the background, and she’s another one of my favorite people. I did have to go to the Cancer Institute today for the weekly labs, which means drawing blood through my port. Joe went along for the ride. I got the nurse, you know, the one I used to not like, who told me that if I was going to go through something like this, I should get used to the poking and prodding. Well, I like her now, go figure. So, I hope this “good day” post can follow me through next week’s treatment, when I may once again feel that it’s not worth the effort. I’m not being pessimistic. I WILL think positively about the chemo treatment, but I now have three previous cumulative (even though the doctor says they’re not) treatments that clog the prior knowledge part of my brain. So, wish me luck on the 14th, and I hope no one will have to read any “poor me” blogs following the next round.