Nothing much to say...just a synopsis of the day!

As I sit in my normal spot on the patio on this beautiful end of summer day, it’s unusual, especially for me, but I really have nothing to say today that I feel won’t be a repeat of what I have said before, or boring or dull. I want to impart some great wisdom with you, and I am not feeling very wise today. Maybe my senses are dull, maybe it’s that “chemo brain” that people talk about all the time. My nurse told me that anytime I forget something, or lose something, I can simply say I have “chemo brain”. It’s true that I have found I’m more spacey lately, I have lost a few things, important things, and I sometimes can’t remember a name or place, or that word is just on the tip of my tongue and I can’t get it off the tip and into my head. Now I know that happens to everyone, but it seems to happen to me more frequently. I hate it, not having my senses complete and my brain as sharp, but I can poo-poo it off and hope my mind comes back when this is all over. If its just old age…well then I’m screwed.

My son’s best friend from high school, Johnny Alvarez, came by last night with his girl friend Savannah, while they were in town from Idaho Falls. What a treat. Johnny practically grew up at my house, breaking things, fixing things, eating my food, talking my ear off… you name it. What a joy it was to see him and meet his lovely lady! He is making quite a success for himself in Idaho, working at INEEL as a heavy mechanic, making good money, in love with a good girl. Memories of Johnny are bright and joyful and his legacy lives in my house even today. Every year I put out penguins as part of my holiday light display. I have one that got put backwards all those years ago and it became the “Johnny penguin.” To this day, one of my penguins is always backwards, my Johnny penguin in honor of this wonderful kid who touched my life. When Mike met him, he said “is this Johnny penguin?” I had to laugh!

I spent the most of the day yesterday in love with my grandson. It was perfect and I totally overdid it and was exhausted last night and didn’t make another event I was planning on attending, but that was okay. If I had, I wouldn’t have gotten to see Johnny, so it worked out the way it was supposed to! When I got back from walking the dogs yesterday, Elena and Houston wanted to go to the Parade of Homes and of course, a two year old is definitely not conducive (or allowed) on the Parade. So, I asked Jessie to hang out with Nana for the day. We went to the park and saw Mike come out of the river after his swim across the Columbia (begs, to ask the question… why swim across the Columbia?) Which Jessie thought was great fun, and even more fun playing in the back of Mike’s truck with Asher and Amrea while the adults talked! Then we went off to the farmer’s market and fiery food festival in Pasco to pick up all sorts of wonderful food, but best of all… berries. Jessie LOVES berries. As soon as he saw them, the apple was out of his hand and he was ready for some berry bliss! So he ate his way through a pint of various berries, turning his mouth and clothes a fabulous red and blue, hands and legs stained with their sugary sweet juice. He was in heaven, that kid loves berries! Don’t you wish that you could eat something with such abandon? So we went and bought groceries and he was the perfect little boy, sitting in the cart, eating goldfish, helping me select items and put them in the cart. By the time we got home it was past lunchtime, so we had some lunch, and settled in to watch a movie and read books for quiet time.

After he left I was supposed to go to a Kadlec party at a co-workers and then a group of us were going to go to the Robert Cray concert last night. But after the day, my body just felt heavy and achy and full of lead and I knew that I needed some rest. So I bailed and stayed home and Mike came over, we had some enchiladas and kept it low key, watching some college football and taking the dogs for a short walk. I’m starting to get smart now. After this many months of doing this, I am realizing when its time to just sit down and rest. Time to let my body regenerate and heal. I know I missed a great party and a wonderful concert, but the price that my body would have paid is too high. It’s not worth the risk to let those blood counts plummet and give this cancer a chance to grow again. Like I said, I’m starting to get smart about this! ‘Bout time.

So, no wisdom to impart with you today, except to say, do what is in your heart and do what your body tells you to do. If you need to rest, rest. If you need to be uplifted with those you love, take them with you and let them lift you up. A day with my grandson was just what the doctor ordered. And when that beautiful little boy grabs a hold of me with both arms and pulls me tight and says “my nana”…well my world just becomes complete. Find what makes your world complete and hold on to it forever.