First Week Back

January 9, 2026

End of the week me was so thankful for my beginning of the week meal planning me, because I knew how tired I'd be at the end of this first week back to school. My wholeeal plan for Friday was to have a date night and go out to dinner. (I like to be forward thinking like that.) Dinner, drinks, and no dirty dishes. Perfect.

New Year, New Skills

January 8, 2026

Lisa and I decided to take some knitting classes and a local studio! I have tried to teach myself a couple of times over the years, but it's a little tough to troubleshoot when you don't know what you're doing. Class was pretty good, and I think I got the hang of the basic motion. Now I have to practice A LOT to commit it to muscle memory. We'll see how my progress goes!

Trying Something New

January 7, 2026

I have always been a little bit intimidated by the thought of a Pub Quiz, because what if I don't know ANYTHING?? But tonight our friends invited us to a Pub Quiz, and we had a great time! Our team didn't win, but we made a respectable showing for our first time out, and it really was impressive how each person had their own specialized knowledge about some pretty obscure and random things. (It doesn't hurt that this particular group is definitely intelligent and well-read.) I'm excited to go give this kind of outing another try again soon!

Still Growing

January 6, 2026

It's apparently almost orchid season again. Those who know me know that not only is it miraculous that I have kept a plant alive, but it is absolutely astonishing that I have four of these orchid plants that are getting ready to bloom for the fourth year in a row! (Normally, plants in my presence give up within two weeks or so). I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I see these buds starting to form! 

Today, I Paid the Piper

 January 5, 2026

Today I made up for all that relaxation from yesterday--finalizing grades, putting away (some) of Christmas, chores around the house, and generally getting ready to head back to school tomorrow.  Am I ready?  Not really.  But I will be happy to see my friends and my students again after this break.  Semester Two, here we come!

Taking a Breath Before It's Time to Go Back

 January 4, 2026

Tuesday we go back to school.  Last week was really busy, but this week actually allowed me to rest, relax, and actually feel like I had a chance to breathe before the end of Christmas vacation.  Today was focused on not worrying about any obligations or chores in particular, though I did do some around the house.  It was nice to give myself permission to enjoy the quiet before the next whirlwind.

More Old Friends

 January 3, 2026

We went to dinner tonight with Jim and Christy, whom we haven't seen for quite some time--by my estimation nearly a year and a half.  They live out of town, but they still have family here and come to visit every now and again, but we are just one of the stops on their visits home.  I know how hectic it can be to try to get everything and everyone in during a quick weekend trip, so I understand.  But oh my goodness, how lovely it was to just sit and talk and catch up.  You know the friendship is solid when what I would guess would be a two hour lunch turns into more than four hours.  The secret, I've discovered, to not letting too much time go by between get-togethers is to make a specific plan for the future, rather than the usual "let's not make it so long next time...".  I'm so excited that we decided to make a date in another three weeks when they are back in town again--definitely something to look forward to!  (Reuniting with old friends and making plans a priority seems like a good refocus for the new year!)

Old Friends in the New Year

January 2, 2026

I received a text tonight from an old friend. This is someone I care about very much, but who has been somewhat missing in action for the past several months, likely for a variety of reasons. I have missed this person dearly, and am thrilled to know that they are still well, and wanting to walk back across that bridge that connects us. There are just some people who I will always feel drawn to, like there is a gentle line that tethers our hearts to one another no matter how far apart we may wander for a time. 

New Year, 2026

January 1, 2026

I have been very fortunate this past year. The family is healthy. I am healthy. We have enjoyed success and comfort, and those are not things I take for granted. For the year ahead, I humbly seek to continue the path of peace I'm on, to continue to grow in the relationships I am nurturing, and to continue to strive to release the past that no longer holds value or peace for my life today. I also continue to work to release myself from that which I have no control, and focus on what I can control. My word for 2026 is RELEASE. Cheers to 2026!

Ten Years

October 17, 2025 

This coming Tuesday, it will be exactly ten years since I got the call that I had cancer. Ten years. I know some who might say, “I didn’t know if I’d live to see this day” when they got their cancer diagnosis, but not me. I knew. I knew I wasn’t done with life, or life wasn’t done with me. That’s not to say I wasn’t scared, or that I didn’t worry about what the whole journey ahead of me would be, but in a world where my brain very often defaults to the worst-case scenario, my brain simply wouldn’t –couldn’t– fathom this being the end. Perhaps that’s naivety, or my well-known sense of optimism (yes, I know that flies in the face of my brain defaulting to worst-case scenarios, but I’m a complex creature–a true dual-natured Gemini, so just go with it) but I could only wrap my brain around what trials I might have to go through to get to the other side, rather than there being no other side of cancer for me. 

Truth be told, I have a bit of imposter syndrome when it comes to my cancer. I was lucky. The doctors and the mammogram caught it early. It was localized; it hadn’t decided to hit the highway of lymph nodes and fast-track its way into my bloodstream or knock down the doors of my bones. There was no chemotherapy or radiation to wrestle my cancer into submission, all it took to excise the cancer was to literally cut off a body part entirely. And still, because I didn’t get sick, because I didn’t lose my hair or my sense of taste, or have to infuse my body with poisonous chemicals to further choke additional cancer cells, it almost feels like it’s unfair to say I had cancer. It feels false to say that I have experienced cancer when so many have much more difficult and even tragic relationships with it. I did have it though, and as a wise friend told me once, cancer is not a contest. ‘Easy’ or not, it was still big, overwhelming, and scary to be in a relationship with cancer. 

It is a relationship, after all, and I was in one. Me and my cancer. You and your cancer become fiercely intertwined–no matter what stage, no matter what kind– and even when it is in the rearview mirror, even when you are able to put the abusive partner behind you, you are changed. The experience leaves a marker of indelible memory on the core of your being. You know that person who was unhealthy for you but who was inextricably tied to your psyche? The one that you knew you had to unencumber yourself from in order to save your mental health? It’s kind of the same thing. Even when you know it was not healthy for you, part of that relationship remains embedded in your soul–the memories and experiences remain part of the chemical makeup of your current being. They shaped who you are currently; just because they are no longer there doesn’t mean they weren’t part of your becoming YOU.

Anyway, cheers to me. Cheers to 10 years–and many more to come. I am not done with life yet, nor is life done with me.