Our 5k team
5K TO START THE DAY
Thanksgiving started with Rob & Joy leading some of our clan in a 5k race. The cousins (Haley, Sophia, Samantha and Rayann) joined together to do the family proud. The race began at 8:30am. I was glad to be resting quietly in bed while the younger ones were out running to represent the family.
Love those turkey hats!
FAMILY TIME
Later we all gathered in Norwood where we had the opportunity to take some family pictures. There are pictures of all the cousins gathered for Thanksgiving over the past few years. One thing is clear…time is marching on. Our children are doing what children tend to do and are getting older each day. It is hard to recognize them from what we remember from years past.
Cousins
It is always good to spend time with family. Thanksgiving is a special time for our NC family. Everyone gathers together, shares way too much food and catches up on life. There are joys to share and sorrows to carry together. We get to talk to the younger ones about plans for the future and listen to their hopes and dreams of what could be. We celebrate the successes and encourage each other to take steps forward.
CANCER JOURNEY
I enjoy our trips to NC over Thanksgiving. This year is different. We are traveling much slower thanks to my Cancer. I have slept a lot. Wednesday it felt like all I did was eat and sleep. I got up in the morning, ate some breakfast and took a nap. I woke up around noon and had some lunch. I moved two wheel barrows full of firewood and then took a nap until dinner. After dinner I sat in what has become my chair and promptly fell asleep. A few hours later I woke up and went to bed! I am not sure why I am sleeping so much but I am trying to embrace this new way of living. I should have had chemo this week…maybe my body knows that and is in a chemo routine. My next treatment will be the Tuesday we return to PA.
Delaying treatment for one week should be good. It will give my body time to heal and strengthen. Some of the side effects lessen when I am not actively receiving treatment. My nose is healing and I am able to breathe much easier. My neuropothy is not getting any better. I struggle to type. My fingers cannot feel the keys like they used to. It is odd but I am learning how to get along. I keep holding out hope that it will soon get better. If this one piece of cancer life would go away I think life would be much better. I would be more stable, have more strength and feel much more like myself.
MY HERD
My Herd
With everyone together we had the opportunity to take a family picture. This is usually quite an event in our household. It involves a camera on a tripod, trying to get everything set just right and lots of anxiety. I am told that I am often the source of said anxiety…I find that hard to believe…but if we took a family vote I am afraid I would lose. In the end we usually get a decent picture but there is always somebody who says, “I am never doing that again!” Today was much easier. Nancy’s sister Joy managed the camera and we got a good picture of the four of us.
Sitting here looking at this picture it is hard to believe how much our family has grown. Joe and Rayann have turned into such great young people. I recognize I may be biased, but I think they are fantastic kids. I could not be more proud of the people they are becoming. I pray I have the opportunity to watch them grow and mature all the more and take on the different stages of life’s journey.
I look at Nancy and myself and find it hard to believe she chose to journey through life with me. We got married just a few weeks after graduating college. We did not have a clue about life, about each other, or what life held in store. Over the years we have had much to celebrate and there have been times of struggle. One thing was consistent, we loved and cared for each other…even in those moments when we may not have necessarily liked each other. 🙂
She is an amazing woman who can do just about anything she sets her mind to. Her support over the past seven months has been nothing short of heroic. She has helped me through the toughest time in my life and has helped me continue to do the things which are most important to me. She has sacrificed much to keep our family life “normal” in the midst of this less than normal season. She is my hero.
I am proud and thankful that this group allows me to be a member of their herd. I look forward to wherever God leads us in the future.
Nancy is one of my heroes too, but so are you!! You both have been an inspiration to me and others. Hope you both get the much needed rest that you deserve as you spend time with family and friends.