Happier Days Are Here Again

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted here.  I had had a difficult time with a trauma anniversary last year and an even more difficult time shaking off that dark cloak of sadness.  

And then the pandemic hit which cancelled my oldest daughter’s bridal shower, bachelorette party and wedding.   She also works in a school and in a hospital which has us all on edge while Martha, who has underlying medical conditions, has been teaching remotely from home.  

I won’t even go into the morass of the Trump administration and what a clusterf*ck it has been to our country, our family and our mental health.

And just as I was about to celebrate 9 years of being cancer free, I was diagnosed with Melanoma cancer.  

It’s been quite a year.  

But the one thing that has always gotten me through the hard times was focusing on the many things I should be grateful for and so here are some:

We managed to host a small, intimate wedding at the lake so my daughter is no longer living in sin. 

All other wedding plans have been reimagined and rescheduled.  The original invitations were quite elegant, the second date (again cancelled) were short but still lovely.  The third try at a date is a postcard that says “Shit Happens”   Hopefully, the third time - now in December - will be a charm.

Martha has made a final decision to retire at the end of this school year.  It has been an extremely difficult decision for her, but we are looking forward to the world opening up, being able to travel more and enjoying more leisure activities outside the confines of the school calendar.  Or perhaps we will kill each other from being together all the time.  It will certainly be an adjustment.

I underwent a successful surgery to remove the melanoma cancer, which was fortunately caught very early.  I now have a huge chunk of flesh missing from behind my knee and I look forward to telling people about my ‘shark attack’.

Because of my second cancer diagnosis my oncologist recommended that I have a PET scan - not an easy thing for someone who seriously suffers from claustrophobia.  I am VERY grateful for Valium and a report that says I am now cancer free.

We now have an adult in the White House. 

As I sit here and watch another snowstorm sit over our region, I have a new snowblower that has easy turn wheels and heated handles.  My arthritis hands are extremely grateful.

Ordering seeds and starting my garden under grow lights.  There is something so magical about watching seedlings sprout. Especially in winter.

And lastly (although there are many, many more things of which I am grateful)  just as I was about to publish this, my youngest daughter called to say she is pregnant.  I am about to become a grandma.  

Happier days are indeed here again.