Time With My Kids

This weekend is an exciting one for me.  Tomorrow morning, we'll get up early, load into the car, and head 30 minutes away to my son Brett's house.  He'll load his family into their car and we'll hit the road for the three-hour trip to Carthage.  Kevin's family and our other son Jonathan all live down there.

We've rented three rooms at the Econo Lodge.  Jon, Kristen, and their two kids will stay in one, Brett, Melissa and their three will stay in one, and Kevin and I will occupy the other with our girls.  All of our grandkids will be in one place for the fist time ever.

The last time all four of our kids were in the same room, Kristen was pregnant with Zoe, and Melissa had just had Daniel.  I'm more excited than you can imagine!  We'll gather with extended family at Bamboo Garden (Kevin's all-time favorite Chinese buffet) tomorrow afternoon.  There are babies down there that need loved on by me, too.  Babies everywhere!

I have to make sure the battery pack is charged for my camera.  That and making sure we pack the Christmas presents are the only two things I'm concerning myself with.  The rest will work itself out.  I am smiling SO big right now.

Teen Drama

I know I haven't posted for a while.  Busy season is kicking my butt.  On Friday morning, though, it will all be over.  And then I get two 4-day weekends in a row.  Woo Hoo!  No medical information to report because I haven't had any appointments lately.  I have both a radiation follow-up and a plastic surgeon consult in January.  Then, nothing until March.

Monica has an ex-friend who contacted me anonymously (from another friend's phone) to report that Monica has been smoking cigarettes and pot and sneaking out to be with a man that is 6 years or so older than her.  She finally confessed who she was when Kevin and I started calling that number to find out who it was.  I no longer smoke, so I would smell smoke on her if she had been smoking, and I know that this ex-friend does most of the things she accused Monica of.

I contacted her mom and suggested that they come over to hash things out and move on with their lives, and that Monica was willing to take a drug test so we should test them both.  She agreed to be here today at 2.  I brought the test home yesterday and Monica took it.  Nothing.  (I'm not the least bit surprised.)  Today, they called to ask if they could postpone.  Eh.  Whatever.  I like this lady and have no beef with her at all, so if they ever come over, that's fine.  If not though, it'll be no skin off my nose.

The allegations of Monica sneaking out prompted me to ask when this supposedly happened last.  Ex-friend said that it was on Monica's birthday.  Umm, if you are going to make things up, make up a random date.  Don't pick one so easy for us to remember.  Monica was with me all evening.  We were laughing about the stupidity of a guy who was sending stupid texts to her.  We stayed up late that night.

This other girl just thrives on drama.  I know that all teens have some drama, but this one is over the top.  She tried trash-talking about me to Monica, and that was the last straw.  This family has had enough drama in the past year without some immature little girl making up stories.  Also, being faced with my mortality has made my children pretty dang protective of me.  We're content to just be happy together.

So, with the afternoon free, we cleaned house and I made a big pot of chili.  Time for some football and a nap.  I love weekends.

1826 Pills

I had a follow-up with my oncologist today.  I was glad to have an appointment with a doctor, as weird as that sounds.  I feel like I spent all summer fighting cancer.  As soon as radiation was done, I started doing...nothing.  I feel like I've just stopped fighting it, and that makes me very uneasy.  I told her that, and she said that it is a very common feeling, and that I had to trust that we've done it.  Easier said than done.

I asked if she would please do a blood draw to make sure my whites had gotten back to normal levels.  I'm pretty sure they are, since I've had two colds and gotten rid of them both within three days, but I want to be sure.  She was very nice about it and told me that they would be happy to.  That means that I got to see Marie!  She's my favorite chemo nurse!  It was awesome to see her while feeling good, instead of in a chemo-induced stupor.  I'll get the results of the blood tests tomorrow.  ::fingers crossed::

I was also given the prescription for Tamoxifen.  Because my cancer was the type that feeds on estrogen, this is a medication that decreases the estrogen in my body.  I will take one pill per day for 5 years.  1825 pills.  Wait.  There is a leap-year in there.  1826 pills.  I hope that the side effects are minimal.

There is a chance, if I was perimenopausal, that this drug will push me into menopause.  Because of the "chemopause," (fake menopause brought on by chemotherapy,) I won't know for a while if this is the case.  Oh goodie.  More unknowns.  I do know that I'm sick of hot flashes and the most common side effect of Tamoxifen is hot flashes.  *sigh*

She was happy with my progress, and I am to go back and see her in three months.  After that, I'll likely see her every six months for the next five years.  I wish someone would do blood work or a scan and say, "Yes! You are cancer free!" but that isn't going to happen.  I just have to trust that it's gone.  I have to trust the doctors.  I have to trust the medication.  I have to trust the treatments.  I have to trust God.

I'm working on it.