Day 15 - 3rd Chemo Cycle - "Reconnecting"

Today was the day that I was looking forward to throughout the awful first 10 days of this cycle.  My friends from Avonmore were coming to visit!!  I spent my morning finishing up a pair of socks for the homeless shelter.  My morning couldn't go fast enough as I waited for my friends to arrive from their 2 hour trip from home to here.  These were women that had children the same age as mine.  We were going through the same stages when they were infants, toddlers, preschoolers and then school age children.  We were all a support for each other and worked together for community projects and events.  When we moved away it was very difficult to say good bye or see you later to the many friends in that community.  I have missed them every day since.  So when I heard a few of them were planning a road trip to see me this month, it gave me a tremendous boost and a target to fix my mind upon during the difficult days at the beginning of this chemo cycle.

They arrived at 12 Noon and came bearing a cooler and a box full of food.  My freezer is full and the slow cooker was pulled out and filled with roast beef,  new potatoes and au jus.  Thus, supper would be ready for my family without any effort.  The roast beef is from our friends' farm and the potatoes are from their garden along with the frozen corn niblets.  Another of the ladies made a cake for our dessert tonight.

My husband dropped by and was able to visit with them too before he had to head out on the road.  We visited and laughed and caught up with each other.  Then we went out for lunch.  We continued talking and laughing and reminiscing over lunch.  Then we continued our visit back at my home again.  This time our friends were able to see our children.  The last time they saw them, the kids were small children.  They both stand at least 6 ft. tall now.  I haven't laughed and had such a good time in a long while.  Pictures were taken and in a blink of an eye, it was time for our friends to return to their homes.  This afternoon passed by much too quickly.  I realized my stamina is not very good as I was quickly tiring as it became later in the afternoon.  However, I was with friends where it didn't matter if I started to look tired.  I can sleep early tonight and all morning tomorrow to recuperate.  This visit was so worth it.  It's like the years of separation hadn't even happened.  I still feel the glow of love and friendship tonight.

The kids and I had the beef, potatoes and corn for supper.   I made a gravy in the slow cooker to go with the beef and potatoes.  It was all very delicious.  My daughter doesn't remember when we used to buy our beef from our friends' farm and how it tastes better than what we get at the grocery store.  She loved it!!  We were too full for the cake right away, but later in the evening we all had a piece and it was wonderful.  The leftover beef will be used for school lunches tomorrow!  As I was cleaning up and putting leftovers into the fridge, I came across the package of coleslaw mix and dressing that I was supposed to make to go with the supper.  I had totally forgotten it was in the fridge.  I'll make it as part of our supper tomorrow night.

When my friends arrived this morning, our cat was not very receptive to being invaded by new people entering into the house.  He showed his displeasure with a hiss and a growl.  Then he promptly ran away from the hustle and bustle of our living room.  One of my friends was really not comfortable with Frodo.  We have a stuffed toy cat that looks just like our real cat.  Frodo (our real cat) often plays with the stuffed cat.  When we returned to our house after lunch, we were still laughing, chatting and visiting.  I then heard my friend, who was uncomfortable with Frodo, make a sound of fear and shock.  I turned around and she thought that Frodo was laying on his side, expired and bloated like a piece of road kill.  Then she realized that this was our toy cat.  We all had a great laugh!!

I can't thank my friends enough for the wonderful visit that I had with them today!  We talked about health concerns but we also enjoyed each other's company and caught up on each others' lives.  The deep affection I still feel for them will carry me through this next round of chemo in one week's time.  Thank you is too inadequate a word for the depth of gratitude that I feel for the day they gave me today.

Physically, I felt really good today.  I'm very tired tonight.  I really believe that if you surround yourself with positives (love, fun, prayers, good vibes, karma, etc) then you can overcome some of the negatives in a difficult situation.  It doesn't change the fact that there's cancer in my life, but it distracts my mind from dwelling on it.  All the positives can also help the mind lessen some of the physical and mental side effects of treatment, at least in my situation.

This was an excellent day!!!