Category Archives: Family

three years on: haunted, miraculous

When I last wrote, I’d just gotten a hard slap from cancer at the precise moment it seemed I was at long last beginning to put some distance between my life as defined by cancer and the life that I … Continue reading

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leap of faith

Thursday night, Mike and I attended a workshop on the effects of substance abuse during pregnancy.  Our agency, Open Arms, does a fabulous job of making the adoption process all about “lifelong learning,” and one of the areas they want … Continue reading

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atonement

Thirteen years into my partnership/marriage with Mike, and there’s still an inescapable awkwardness that creeps in each year around the High Holidays.  While I recognize the significance of this period on the calendar from a theoretical standpoint, some of its … Continue reading

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comfort in the fight

There’s danger in complacency/And comfort in the fight. – Jonatha Brooke Every so often, no matter how “great” you are feeling, there are moments in a survivor’s life when the sheer shit storm of cancer and its after-effects come along … Continue reading

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the readiness is all

Desperate to resume “living” as quickly as possible after finishing chemotherapy in June of 2008, I returned to work – part-time, and in a limited capacity, but returned nonetheless – just three short weeks after my last treatment.  In hindsight, … Continue reading

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small steps, big love

Last week, my wonderful friend and gardening guru, Judy, came over to our new house.  It was a saturated, sunless late afternoon, so we were limited to drinking tea, standing in the sun room and surveying the back yard.  I … Continue reading

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increasing the happy

There are moments – increasing in frequency and intensity – when I am amazed at the depth of my happiness.  The happiness I know now is richer, more substantial, than anything I knew before cancer.  This weekend, not unexpectedly, was … Continue reading

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the RIGHT NOW! box

Last month, I visited the genetic counseling folks at Penn’s GI Practice.  I sat with a GI doctor, a genetics counselor, a genetics intern, and some other unidentified young physician.  Before I met with the lead doctor, the intern was … Continue reading

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meet mike (he rocks)

Some of you good folks who take the time to read my ramblings here know my husband, Mike.  Some of you don’t.  Regardless, it’s time to take a minute and tell the world why my husband is so amazing, and … Continue reading

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(cancer) flash forward; (cancer) flash back

On days when I am due for a check-up with my oncologist or some other cancer-related appointment, I have been known to do things like forget to pack my yoga pants for my acupuncture appointment after work. Yesterday, after getting … Continue reading

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