fueled up

My long weekend started last night.

Four days off feels pretty good.  I must say, it also feels a little decadent, having just returned to work last week after 2 weeks of vacation but I don't care, I'll enjoy it all the same.

Mark's still wearing his pump today.  He's feeling much better this round than the last two.  When he met with the oncologist he found out that his dose had been lowered a bit, which is probably why he hasn't been as sick.  Whatever the case, we're glad that he's not running back and forth to the bathroom or sleeping 'round the clock.  That was no fun.

We don't have any big plans for the weekend yet.  There are things we hope to accomplish in the yard and around the house but it'll be nice to not rush with them for a change.  I do like the slow pace of a long weekend and wonder if that's what retirement feels like.  I still have a way to go (like 20 years) before I can retire but still, I wonder sometimes.

In the meantime, have coffee will putter!

Chemo - Round 11

You may think that chemo would be more fun when you have a beautiful view of the lake wouldn't you? You would be wrong for thinking that. It's never fun, ever. The folks at the clinic are lovely and helpful and we're so grateful to have access to great care but honestly, we are both anxious to see this come to an end.  Today was round 11.  Just one more to go.  In two weeks and 46 hours, it'll be done.

We will not miss the clinic, or the view of the wind farm, or the sweet and awesome nurses, the friendly admin staff or the other patients and their families.  The sounds and smells of the cancer clinic, the pink parking passes, the long list of medications and doctor's appointments, I will gladly shove away into my memory somewhere.

In two weeks, and 46 hours, we will, with any luck, be able to put this all behind us.  Fingers, eyes, legs, everything is crossed.  

we now return to regularly scheduled programming

Wow, tomorrow morning we are heading back to work.

Where did the last 2 weeks go?? Seriously!

The first morning of my vacation, I made a list.  It wasn't a huge list, in fact at the time it seemed quite manageable.  I had a number of small things (and one sort of large thing) I wanted to accomplish around the house during the first week.  With Mark being home, a lot of them just didn't get finished (or started actually).

I did get pretty far along with my office organization project.  Pretty happy about that I tell you.  It's been a total disaster for about a year.  I never really finished unpacking and there are boxes which have been left, ignored, since our previous move (2005).  I managed to get everything that wasn't paper sorted out.  Stuff's been thrown out, donated or put in a proper place.  The papers are stacked up neatly in boxes, ready for me to go through them and either file, save (to re-review next year) or shred.  I'm saving those boxes for rainy or snowy days later in the year.  The weather is too nice to be spent inside with papers right now.

The upside of Mark being home for almost the whole two weeks is that I actually feel rested up. While he was sleeping, I found myself joining him for a nap here and there.  It was lovely and felt very decadent to sleep in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week. He's feeling better too, finally.  Really, I can't ask for anything more than that out of a vacation, spending time with Mark and the doggies and feeling relaxed and ready to go back to work. 

family reunion

Today we had a little family reunion of sorts.

Mark's nephew Ryan was in town with his wife and son.  We met them for breakfast and had a nice visit.  We hadn't seen them in 3 years so it was good to see them, particularly little Malcolm.

15 years ago today, Mark's mum, Ida, passed away.  Spending time with family was good for Mark, I think it made the day a lot less sad.  Hopefully we won't have to wait another 3 years to see them again.

As they were leaving, we gave them a big box full of books, photos and some religious articles that belonged to Mark's dad Joe and Joe's dad, Harry. I think Ryan was surprised by how old some of things were but it's nice to see them going to family who are actually still connected to Judaism in a sort of formal way.  I think Joe would approve anyway.

Chemo - Round 10

"Having dental surgery without any freezing..."

"Slamming his hand repeatedly in the car door..."

"Being trapped in closet with Glenn Beck..."

"Um...Things Mark would have rather done than have chemo yesterday??"

 Yeah, yesterday was not fun.  Mark did not want to be at chemo.  I cannot blame him at all.  First of all, he has been so sick since leaving the clinic two weeks ago, he couldn't stand the idea of doing it again this week.  Secondly, this is a rough week for him, August 15 is the anniversary of his mum's death and the few days leading up to it are always really difficult for him.

Ordinarily, he and I both work in the morning before chemo but yesterday was weird.  We were home, farting around.  We got to chemo earlier than normal so we had more time to see the folks in the waiting room.  A little girl, maybe 5 or 6, was there running around with her brother while she received her chemo.  It was heartbreaking to see but at the same time, I thought, at least whatever she's got, they are treating her.  She could be a big success story but boy, it's difficult to see a child in the cancer clinic.

Eventually we got in there, Mark got hooked up and that pump couldn't click fast enough. He's feeling a lot better this go round.  He felt pretty good last night, slept well, and this morning, he's up at a decent time.  We've had coffee on the porch and so far, the day is going okay.  I'm happy to say that this week, the anticipation has been far worse than the actual event.  Just 2 more rounds to go.  We'll both be really relieved for this to be over.