Happy Birthday Mom

This year my Mom celebrates the big 80 - quite a milestone! My sisters decided to make an occasion of it, and they wanted everyone to travel to Lake George and be there to help celebrate. Man, I wanted to go so much. I tried to think how I could manage to do it.

My sister who lives in Rochester would be driving out and I could lie down in her van, then go right to a hotel room and regain my strength for when they would go to the restaurant. But what if I began to run a temperature? No doctor out there would know my history or recognize the importance of dealing with issues immediately, etc.

No, it was too risky. Still, when my sister called again, I thought about it seriously, going over and over in my mind all the things that might make me able to undertake such a demanding trip.

I could ask the doctor if there was some magic Vitamin B shot she could give me that would get me through such a weekend. But after my fiasco with low counts and all, I ended up not asking. Besides, my friend who is a nurse, laughed at the idea of a magic shot. Dream on.

I myself doubted that I could handle a four hour drive. I was pretty sure that would do me in. So I reluctantly admitted that I just wasn't able to go, as much as I would have liked to. Mom's celebration this year would be filled with lots of kids visiting, and I would just have to call from afar. Swallow disappointment and be good. There will be lots of other birthdays to help celebrate.

Mom did indeed have a wonderful time. She told me all about it on the phone later. They took her to her favorite restaurant, the Log Jam, where she had a hot roast turkey sandwich and a fancy cake with everyone singing to her. Dad took her to Barnes and Noble where she picked out what she wanted, and she sounded very happy for which I was glad.

I have had to forego many activities this fall. I feel a bit frustrated that I am not back in the swing of things yet, but I recognize that recovery takes more time than treatment. After all, with Noah and the ark, it only rained for 40 days, but they stayed in the ark over a year before it was safe to come out.

For me, its still drizzling. I will not be into recovery mode until after the radiation in October. There will be other, better years when I can do things. For now, I shall be content to participate in what I can and live the rest vicariously through reports from others. That works. That works just fine for now. And I am happy to hear the reports.