I was traveling quite a bit for work and was even stranded in Florida for a few extra days thanks to Hurricane Sandy. Luckily, I was staying with some dear friends, so the stay wasn't all that bad. We had a wonderful girls weekend retreat in October with most of the ladies of my family in Arizona and I spent quite a bit of time in California during all the holidays. Here are the highlights:
1. My best friend gave birth to her first son, Liam and he is perfect! One of my favorite little people in the world. He was born just before Thanksgiving so I had the opportunity to see him on the ultrasound before he was born and then hold and snuggle him tons over Thanksgiving and Christmas. I just adore him and am so thankful to Stephanie and Mike for letting me be a part of his life!
2. My brother got engaged on New Years Day! It was not a huge surprise as he and Elizabeth have been together about a year and half, but we are so excited for all the fun times this year will hold with planning and preparing! They are a perfect match, and Kristen and I adore her as a new sister!
3. Charlotte has been doing wonderfully. She is in school and passed all her physicals and continues to progress as a normal 5 year old. She recently started basketball and according to her blog, she really likes it! I skyped with them last week and was able to see the whole family (including Broadway the dog) for about 30 minutes. It took Charlotte a few minutes to warm up, but Molly was on the desktop chatting and smiling away. The girls showed me many of their Christmas gifts and Charlotte even shared one of her favorite story books with me. She held the book up to the camera and then turned the page. It was such a treat! I email with Amy (Charlotte's Mom) at least once a week, so we didn't have too much new to talk about, but it was just wonderful to have some facetime with them. I miss them terribly!!!
4. Now for the not so happy news. In October, my Mom (Sherri) was diagnosed with breast cancer. I know what you're thinking, give the woman a break! But she handled it with grace and dignity. We were actually relieved if you can say that, that it wasn't the lymphoma. She was diagnosed with invasive ductile carcinoma and underwent a double mastectomy. The good news is that she did not need any further treatment. No radiation and no chemo. Radiation actually wasn't an option, which is why she went with the mastectomy, but luckily they caught it early. I was home over Thanksgiving to take care of her after her surgery and then she was good as new by Christmas. So we actually got to spend a little time together and even spent a night in the Presidential Suite at the Riverside Marriott! That was a treat!
Do you ever feel like even though you're surrounded by people, you are alone? You are carrying so much weight, but it's your job and you're healthy, so suck it up, you can do it? Me too. Do you ever want more or different? Everyday, right? It's nice not to feel alone.
The geneticist says that although my Mom didn't have the BRAC gene mutation causing breast cancer, my sister and I have a 27% chance of getting breast cancer. That's 17% more than the average woman who is 1/10. So that's exciting! I'm pushing 32, single, no prospects, and now I have a 1/4 chance of losing my boobs to cancer. Fun fact for the day! :-)
So what do I do with all this information? ... I live. I live each day as if it's my last. Love every person so they remember. Invest in people and relationships every moment I can. All our days are numbered, and these challenges are just reminders that we can do so much with what we have. I challenge you to do the same.
Hopefully my next update won't be too far away...I think I may have a few more thoughts soon... Happy January!
