February 2, 2019. Last summer, I met Lindsey Scholl at a conference in Tampa and she was the first to tell me that the wildly successful model of holding METSquerades to raise funds for Metavivor that started in Arkansas was coming to Orlando. I immediately knew that I wanted to be involved. I live in … Continue reading Inaugural Orlando METSquerade
I posted last week about why I don't want to be called a survivor. That begs the question, what do I want to be called, what label do I embrace now that I've had nearly two years of living with stage IV metastatic breast cancer under my belt? I've had a lot of labels in … Continue reading What do I want to be called?
For those of you who didn't read my blog post about early stagers vs. metsters, suffice it to say, I have encountered some conflicts with labeling since I was diagnosed de novo metastatic in 2017. If anyone is interested in the details, the earlier blog post lays some of those out. There was an ongoing … Continue reading Why I don’t call myself a Survivor.
Ever since I knew that I have a terminal illness, I've been much more intentional about creating lasting memories with my boys. They are currently five (5) and three (3), so I am quite well aware that their actual memories of me may not be all that vivid if my life expectancy follows the median … Continue reading Creating Lasting Memories
As some of my readers (all 2 or 3 of you) have noticed, I've mostly been posting updates that were originally posted on my Caring Bridge site in 2017 and early 2018. While I do enjoy that platform, I think a more formal and more public blog is more my speed now. That wasn't the … Continue reading 2019 Blog Entries
2019 is here. Each new season and calendar change means something very different to me now. When I was young, I felt the frustration and anticipation of yearning to be older and for time to pass more quickly. As I've gotten older, time seems to move too fast sometimes and not fast enough at other … Continue reading Happy New Year, 2019
It's pretty universal that everyone likes to get presents; yet, there's something super special about watching a child on Christmas morning. My boys really get into the decorations, the magical parts of Christmas and they love Christmas morning. They wade through the paper with startling efficiency and announce and compare their gifts loudly and frequently. … Continue reading Christmas
Before I had children, the story of the birth of Jesus was meaningful, but I sometimes had a hard time wrapping my head around the experience of it. When my husband and I got married and we went through the Catholic pre-marital classes, I found myself wondering at times (irreverently) about all the hullabaloo around … Continue reading Christmas Eve
2018 marks the 2nd Thanksgiving since my diagnosis with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer. Part of my journey to being more mindful and present with my children and within myself has been to practice being thankful. Sometimes it is as simple as remembering to say thank you to someone holding a door, sometimes it is … Continue reading Thanksgiving
I've been asked repeatedly whether I have a blog and why not since I was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer in 2017. I've resisted since I've been writing and doing other things, but I've finally taken the plunge. I'll be transitioning my posts from my Caring Bridge site here over the next few … Continue reading Finally
No Half Measures 