Surfacing

It's been a while, hasn't it? Thanks for checking back to this blog. I still owe you a lymphedema post. It's not ready yet, but what I have so far is pretty rockin', though I say it myself.

My last post was from Tuesday 26 January. Let's back up to that time. . .

On 25 January, I finished radiation. Joshua threw up all night long following our family's post-radiation celebration. So ended the Year of Peyton, my 34th, because on 26 January, I turned 35.

The day of my birthday, we didn't do much at all because we were all exhausted from Joshua's travails.

The next night, 27 January, Gemma, Bryan and I all suffered whatever Josh had, to the power of 5, it seemed. All night long. 3 very miserable people.

I thought repeatedly--whenever I approached the commode--

#1: This feels rotten right now, but it will get better.
#2: This isn't even that bad. It's a lot better than it is in, say, Haiti.
#3: 7 months of chemotherapy and radiation and a suppressed immune system and I didn't get sick one single time. But 2 days after it all ended. . .

The next day, we tried to recover. The day after that, Friday, we prepared for our vacation. Early Saturday morning, we left for lovely Sanibel Island, to visit Bryan's parents, for 10 days.

We had a terrific trip. The kids are great travelers. Our time was relaxing and fun. Some days were warm enough to go to the beach. Some were pretty cold, so we found some indoor activities. All around, it was an A+ trip.

I think the "plus" was because it came after we knew we were finished with treatment. And I thought often during our time there--

#1: I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive.