It has been awhile...
This afternoon I pulled a white hair out of my head.
I am 33 years old.
That one white hair I pulled out? Yeah, it isn't the only one I have.
This kind of sums up my year thus far... it has definitely aged me! I celebrated my 33rd birthday about 2 weeks ago and while the celebration was great, it made me realize that lately I just feel O-L-D. *Sigh* I guess that is to be expected considering what has been happening the past 9 months.
In January, my mom had a car accident. In February, she found out she had breast cancer. In April, we found out the one spot of cancer was actually two, well really four if you count the pre-cancerous spots. In May, she had surgery to remove that cancer and I took a month off of work to help her during her recovery. In June, I returned to work pretty much full-time, but still took mom to appointments and chemotherapy.
July brought mom's last two sessions of dose-dense chemotherapy. I cannot believe what a trooper she was through chemo. It was hard on her and she certainly did suffer side effects, but she made it through! Her last infusion was July 27. In late July, her employer decided to inform her that because she noted her intention to return to work just a few days shy of the FMLA guidelines, they were going to lay her off. After consulting some dear, wise friends and a few strongly worded pieces of correspondence, they reinstated her position. Today mom is doing well and I am so thankful to the Lord for that major blessing. She still has five years of hormone therapy (to suppress estrogen in her body, as estrogen seemed to be "feeding" the tumors she had removed), her reconstruction to complete and hair to grow back, but everything else seems to be normalizing. She will be checked for the recurrence of cancer over the coming years, but the doctors seem positive and optimistic, so mom and the rest of us are as well.
July was also the month in which Steve had several promising interviews, none of which ended in a job. It is also the month that my work started blocking access to any blogspot site, including my own blog, which is one of the main reasons there have been no updates in so long. I used to write updates during my lunch hour and then revise and post them when I could, but now I'm faced with remembering to try and blog once I get home amidst all of the other things I am trying to accomplish. Bummer.
And well, August is usually a favorite month for me. But this year, August, was mixed. It was fun celebrating Steve's birthday. He got a new monitor for his computer and a trip to Rei do Gado, a Brazilian restaurant he's been wanting to visit. Later in the month Mom hosted and I helped orchestrate a Western-themed party to celebrate Steve's, my and my mom's birthdays. The party was very fun and the decor was ridiculously cool. I hope to share pictures sometime. I received some great gifts for my birthday and felt very loved, which, trust me, totally saved my "mental bacon" by month's end. But August was also a tough month at work. Actually, work has been tough for several months now and August was hard because several projects I put a lot of time into did not turn into wins for our department. Also, the air conditioner in our apartment and the air conditioner in my office both broke during the heat wave we had in San Diego -- oh that heat wave! I figure that I pay a lot in cost of living to live where the weather is supposed to be nice all the time -- but man, has it been hot and muggy and miserable!
And now it's September... a notoriously busy month at work. This year is no exception. Next week is the big tradeshow I always coordinate. I feel unprepared this time around. I've worked on several more large projects and there have been several things just nagging at me. I cracked a lens filter and almost broke a lens. My external hard drive stopped working... it's at the shop now and hopefully all of my photo files are retrievable.
On the up side, I'm taking an online class with Cathy Zielske that has been a great mental escape for me and a church near my office is offering a pilates class for 10 weeks during my lunch hour, so that could be fun!
I figure people may be wondering why I've been so out of touch in the last couple of months considering my mom is doing much better, but these are just some of the reasons why. There are just times when you have to stop doing extra and just focus on surviving and not try to bring down others. I feel like I've been "singing the same song" for so long and I don't want to sound like an ungrateful, broken record. I have faith things will turn around...
I am 33 years old.
That one white hair I pulled out? Yeah, it isn't the only one I have.
This kind of sums up my year thus far... it has definitely aged me! I celebrated my 33rd birthday about 2 weeks ago and while the celebration was great, it made me realize that lately I just feel O-L-D. *Sigh* I guess that is to be expected considering what has been happening the past 9 months.
In January, my mom had a car accident. In February, she found out she had breast cancer. In April, we found out the one spot of cancer was actually two, well really four if you count the pre-cancerous spots. In May, she had surgery to remove that cancer and I took a month off of work to help her during her recovery. In June, I returned to work pretty much full-time, but still took mom to appointments and chemotherapy.
July brought mom's last two sessions of dose-dense chemotherapy. I cannot believe what a trooper she was through chemo. It was hard on her and she certainly did suffer side effects, but she made it through! Her last infusion was July 27. In late July, her employer decided to inform her that because she noted her intention to return to work just a few days shy of the FMLA guidelines, they were going to lay her off. After consulting some dear, wise friends and a few strongly worded pieces of correspondence, they reinstated her position. Today mom is doing well and I am so thankful to the Lord for that major blessing. She still has five years of hormone therapy (to suppress estrogen in her body, as estrogen seemed to be "feeding" the tumors she had removed), her reconstruction to complete and hair to grow back, but everything else seems to be normalizing. She will be checked for the recurrence of cancer over the coming years, but the doctors seem positive and optimistic, so mom and the rest of us are as well.
July was also the month in which Steve had several promising interviews, none of which ended in a job. It is also the month that my work started blocking access to any blogspot site, including my own blog, which is one of the main reasons there have been no updates in so long. I used to write updates during my lunch hour and then revise and post them when I could, but now I'm faced with remembering to try and blog once I get home amidst all of the other things I am trying to accomplish. Bummer.
And well, August is usually a favorite month for me. But this year, August, was mixed. It was fun celebrating Steve's birthday. He got a new monitor for his computer and a trip to Rei do Gado, a Brazilian restaurant he's been wanting to visit. Later in the month Mom hosted and I helped orchestrate a Western-themed party to celebrate Steve's, my and my mom's birthdays. The party was very fun and the decor was ridiculously cool. I hope to share pictures sometime. I received some great gifts for my birthday and felt very loved, which, trust me, totally saved my "mental bacon" by month's end. But August was also a tough month at work. Actually, work has been tough for several months now and August was hard because several projects I put a lot of time into did not turn into wins for our department. Also, the air conditioner in our apartment and the air conditioner in my office both broke during the heat wave we had in San Diego -- oh that heat wave! I figure that I pay a lot in cost of living to live where the weather is supposed to be nice all the time -- but man, has it been hot and muggy and miserable!
And now it's September... a notoriously busy month at work. This year is no exception. Next week is the big tradeshow I always coordinate. I feel unprepared this time around. I've worked on several more large projects and there have been several things just nagging at me. I cracked a lens filter and almost broke a lens. My external hard drive stopped working... it's at the shop now and hopefully all of my photo files are retrievable.
On the up side, I'm taking an online class with Cathy Zielske that has been a great mental escape for me and a church near my office is offering a pilates class for 10 weeks during my lunch hour, so that could be fun!
I figure people may be wondering why I've been so out of touch in the last couple of months considering my mom is doing much better, but these are just some of the reasons why. There are just times when you have to stop doing extra and just focus on surviving and not try to bring down others. I feel like I've been "singing the same song" for so long and I don't want to sound like an ungrateful, broken record. I have faith things will turn around...
Thanks so much for the post, Kim. I was getting ready to call you if I didn't hear anything soon; I was really wondering how things were.
ReplyDeleteKeep hanging in there, and we'll keep praying!
I believe things will turn around for you too, and soon!
ReplyDeleteKimberly,
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear what you are going through with your mom. I can relate to an extent my sister, Bernice (33 years old), was diagnosed with stage 3breast cancer last year. She is recovering well. On another note, I noticed that your husband maybe looking for a career opportunity. What's his background like? All of my friends work in the staffing industry. I would be happy to contact my friends if you would like. Wishing you and yours many delightful blessings.
All the best,
Vanessa Michele Garcia