LOVE MAKES MINCEMEAT OF SIDE AFFECTS FOLLOWING CHEMO

A dear high school friend suggested giving myself permission to wallow in the blahs, when giving myself permission is not the problem at hand. Whenever chemo miseries are mentioned, much more than the blahs are knocking me out.  Exhaustion experienced on Sunday and Monday evolved into physical miseries, on Tues. beginning at about 5:30pm when our door bell began to chime announcing the preplanned arrival of a scrumptious salmon dinner prepared by one dear friend, which happened to be followed by yet another door chime announcing the presence of a dear friend from Will’s high school days, who had dropped off a delicious homemade veggie Pate, which she knew I’d craved.

The third time our chimes rang aloud, friend (and neighbor) #1 had returned with groceries, which came as a surprise.  And so in keeping with safety precautions, Will donned mask, gloves and a most grateful smile each time LOVE continued to fill our home with attentive kindnesses, which prove essential if spirits are to thrive during life’s most trying times.  The fourth chime announced friend #3 with homemade cookies.

If you ask where I was while this flurry of welcome activity took place at our front door, here would be my reply—I was curled into a ball of physical misery on our master bathroom rug, teeth chattering away though the sum of my parts was huddling under two blankets fetched lovingly by Will, whose forehead, filled with worry lines, conveyed the depths of his concern for my distress, and though misery felt like my middle name, momentarily, I’d still felt fully appreciative of my good fortune knowing that the worst of this month’s physical side affects, which always manifest at about this time during every chemo cycle, would be short lived while the lasting nature of our treasured friendships is certain to last throughout the rest of Will’s lifetime and mine ...

Though my smile was nowhere to be seen when LOVE rang our bell, repeatedly, on Monday and Tuesday evenings, my attitude, focusing in the right direction, knew without a shadow of doubt that the sparkle, which will emanate naturally from within the depths of my eyes, quite soon, will show me to be one of the luckiest souls I know.  Not just because of how deeply valued our treasured friendships prove to be but because of the posts, which, having been published for public consumption on Facebook by our sons, actually saw tears fill my eyes, being that I’d not read what they’d written about growing up in our home till Mother’s Day had passed ...

By bedtime, last night, chemo miseries experienced over these past four days had diminished considerably, freeing my spirit’s smile to ready itself to sing and dance with the sandman to the tune of—Lucky Me!—until, upon awakening to a bright, sunlit perspective, today, my memory chose to conjure up snapshots showing a rambunctious band of brothers, whose boundless sense of fun continues to enjoy countless reasons to thrive as each stage of their lives evolves toward the next.  (More photos to come). Here’s hoping my friend’s exhaustion abates as naturally as mine will, over time, until the next two cycles of chemo are complete,.
🙋🏻‍♀️🥰🌈🌻Annie