Skip to main content

A song in my heart

My oncologist walked in for our Wednesday appointment and I broke out in song, "Doctor, doctor give me the news I got a bad case of loving you . . ."
She joined in for the subsequent verses! Got to love a doctor with a great sense of humor and a great singing voice.

In all likelihood, there aren't many patients that greet their oncologist in song! That's me, sharing a little bit of sunshine wherever I go.

It was a blustery day on Wednesday (I can hear Pooh saying Happy Winds-day!) and C-O-L-D after we had several warm and sunny days, the change did little to brighten anyone's mood. My headwrap nearly blew away when I got out of my car in the morning and that brief exposure for my nearly bald head chilled me for most of the rest of the morning. I have a greater appreciation for the warmth a full head of hair provides. One of my WW members changed my chilly disposition shortly after, however, when she gave me a hat she'd crocheted for me. It was the second gift I'd received (the first was a beautiful sketch of a robin) from a member at that Benton Harbor meeting and it warmed my heart.

As a WW Coach, I lead weekly discussions about topics related to health, habits and activity. And some of these can be fairly emotional for the members and I carry their stories in my heart, each and every one of the members I have had the good fortune to meet is now a part of me. Being 'in front of the room', though, I often forget that part of me sometimes becomes a part of the members too. And as I've been going through chemo, many of these members have reached out, outside of the Workshop time to share, to hug, to lift me up. What's not to love about my job?

So, no wonder on blustery Winds-day, when the weather was depressing most Michiganders, I came to my oncologist appointment after having led two WW Workshops with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. Life is good!

Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Fall of Giants

I've long been a fan of historical fiction and just this past Christmas I received from my son Michael Ken Follett's most recent book, Fall of Giants. It is the first book of a trilogy that covers the 20th century and the first installment covers the early 1900s up to just after World War I. It includes characters based in Russia in the time of their revolution. While I studied the Russian Revolution in college, this book brought much back to me - including the chaos that reigned for years leading up to the revolution and continuing throughout. I write about this today because the Egyptian revolution reminds me of the Russian revolution. The Russian revolution started out quietly and largely as a protest against a harsh and autocratic government - the Tsar. The Russian people didn't have a say in their government and were very poor while the royalty in Russia lived large. The secret police in Russia often killed and imprisoned people for no apparent reason and there were ...

Don't cry for me ...

Song lyrics or titles run through my mind to often sum up a situation or add humor to one. Today, it's "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". Only today the title is "Don't cry for me anybody"! I mean, I get it, that people feel bad that I've got breast cancer and that I've been living with MS for nearly 27 years. And I've had other issues that I've blogged about related to #metoo. I get that it seems like a lot looking in from the outside. I hear your comments and appreciate your support. But here's the thing, it doesn't feel overwhelming to me, looking out from the inside. Know what I mean? I live the life that I've been dealt and do it with the personality and faith I've been given. Which means, I could do one of the following: A. Have a miserable, pity-me attitude that would lead to being  miserable; B. Lean into my troubles and seek answers constantly either through research or angrily with God, which would lea...

Christmas cards

I sat down to reluctantly address Christmas cards. While our list has slowly dwindled through the years it's still a sizeable number, especially when it's viewed as a task approached reluctantly . Know what I mean? Some Christmas 'tasks' are a lot less taskier - like decorating or shopping or eating or opening presents. I mean, there's a whole different level of enthusiasm associated with 'tasks' that aren't viewed as tasks - I can't ever remember a time when I sat down to reluctantly open a present or eat a Christmas cookie! Anyway, I approached the Christmas card addressing with a less-than-positive, more bah-humbugish attitude. I poured a cup of coffee, grabbed the markers (I had to have a green, a red and a black one), the list and of course the envelopes (which John had already stuffed with the card). I turned on some Christmas music, but not too loud or it would distract me (and it really doesn't take much to distract me. Squirrel!),...