While speaking with my dear friend Susan, she and I comiserated about—What a week this has been—the first anniversary of Linda’s and Shawn’s deaths have been commemorated, and last night, the loss of Sue’s friend, Shelley’s mother occurred just three weeks before the celebration of her 100 years of life had been planned to take place.
Perhaps those who say age is just a number feel need to deny the reality of the fact that the term ‘old age’ clarifies this final stage in which we and our loved ones are all confronted with the struggle between life and death in one way or another, pretty much, every day.
My cousin, Betty, who has pancreatic cancer (her husband, Allen, has Parkinson’s) has been hospitalized at Mayo with pneumonia, again. Last week she needed two pints of blood (chemo related).
Sometime soon, we hope to see dear friends, Marilyn and Joel (before his surgery for bladder cancer is scheduled) now that his energy, following months of debilitating chemo, has begun to revive.
Tonight, we look forward to dinner on another restaurant patio with Jessica, Lauren, Mickey and their friends, Madalyn and David (who has Parkinson’s).
On the upside, last night, Steven and Ravi joined our extended family for dinner, and a good time was had by all. Especially Ravi, as her aunt, cousin and Gramma had each surprised her with a craft to enjoy at the table while the adults talked and talked. And when my sweet grand daughter, in need of physical activity, invited each of us to take a seat on my walker, her naturally joyful, youthful spirit gave whomsoever was game an imaginative (very tame) roller coaster ride. around our table.
Last night, I had my ‘first taste’ of oral chemo in hopes of prolonging my life. I took compazine as prescribed for possible nausea a half hour before downing four chemo caplets, all of which had to bypass the lump of resistance in my throat. As Will’s loving smile served as a spoon full of sugar, all of the meds that I had to swallow went down smoothly.
This morning, I awakened feeling relieved to know that the first night of oral chemo at bedtime was behind me. Then, I laughed aloud upon finding a just-in-case tactic on the part of Will in the shape of a large white mixing bowl, next to my side of the bed, which, thank goodness, had remained empty. So far so good
To our good fortune, over these many years of wedded life, Will and I managed to glean the wisdom necessary to ride the roller coaster that ends in the tunnel of love as neither he nor I had demonstrated beed to sink the boat, though it’s true that, once, he almost jumped overboard, and once the same was true of me; however thankfully, our love proved so strong that both of us fot a grip on what it means to grow toward being the best partner each of us can be whenever the going gets rough on either side …. By some stroke of luck, neither of us gave up on our marriage at the same time.
—Annie
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