Thin Slices of Joy

Anonymous

ScotBird - That's a great feeling!

Yaelle - Welcome! What an exciting time for you!

Beautiful day today! Hope you’re having a relaxing weekend.

Joyseeker

My new slice of joy. Arrives this week. Meet Felix 💜💜

Anonymous

Hi Felix! So cute!

sswp

Awww Joyseeker, so cute.

Made it through the 1st week of chemo 2 and was able to get the things done I needed to the last three days (work, family).

PauletteK

We should do more pet picture.

Teese

Pics are adorable of pets, love the funny ones too.

Due to radiation fatigue I haven't gotten all my Christmas decorations down yet, today I start. I've enjoyed them everyday because I was afraid I wouldn't get any up this year, but I was able to do a scaled down version.

I've changed so much this year, much more mellow, the old me would have gone nuts looking at Santas on my kitchen hutch on Jan 24th. The new me makes me happy!

Anonymous

sswp - You're doing great!

Paulette - Cute pup! More pet pictures are always welcome.

Teese - Since BC I'm more mellow with home/family stuff, but less patient with work stuff. Not a bad thing, but maybe I need a vacation? Time off for cancer treatment is not at all vacation.

For her birthday, I bought my older daughter 2 tickets to see Les Misérables. She picked me as her guest. I told her she could take anyone she wanted, but she insisted. I’m very lucky.

Anonymous

I'm at the hospital early for my appointments with kinesiology and my BS. Found a quiet spot to drink my coffee.

Here's my view:

Anonymous

Mammogram is good. Next BS appointment in a year.

I'm on the train home and planning a nap with the pup.

Anonymous

This girl is my hero.

https://womenintheworld.com/2018/01/24/record-setting-polar-explorer-16-hits-back-at-men-who-said-she-belonged-in-the-kitchen/

Joyseeker

I love that too! Go Jade!

ScotBird

Good morning everyone, there’s a lot of joy to catch up with on this thread. Yaelle it will be so exciting to have a grandchild, you are lucky. I have also been more mellow about tidying away the Christmas decorations this year, and finally put them back in the attic this week. I also like the more mellow me, Teese: it’s a good feeling to just enjoy your life and not sweat the stuff that really doesn’t matter.

SSWC take it easy, chemo is hard and if you don’t do all the work and family stuff you’d like to, people will understand. Be kind to yourself and rest up!

Serenity I love the stethoscope sculpture and I love your clear mammo results even more. Thanks so much for starting this thread, I only read once a week but every night when I get into bed I go through my day and remember to notice the joy. I’m in a good place now, hope it continues for a long time! XX

ScotBird

Joyseeker I hope you are enjoying Felix. Puppies can be hard work. I got my puppy about 2 years ago (right after I was diagnosed with bc) and she is one of the greatest joys of my life, but it was quite hard work for a while there at the beginning. She did not get the idea of peeing outside for a really long time! X

Anonymous

ScotBird - Glad your pup has finally learned to pee outside! We taught our pup to ring the bell hanging by the front door. She learned pretty quickly, but still had accidents in the first few months. Usually because we didn't respond to the bell fast enough.

Poor pup is not enjoying the outside. The mounds of snow are covered in ice making it difficult for her to find a good spot. When she comes back inside, she likes to nestle next to my legs to get warm.

My older daughter is now 22. My husband has declared her a parenting win. We have awesome kids.

Anonymous

I'm appreciating my hospital. Yesterday I saw the kinesiologist at 9 am. This was followed by an exam with my BS, a mammogram, and another meeting with my BS after he received the mammogram results. I was able to catch the 12:30 train home. Last year I needed a biopsy, and that was done in the same clinic in the same day. I had the results soon after. It was a long day, but I'm glad that I didn't have to wait for another day. Made it less stressful.

sswp

Serenity: Glad to hear your medical appointments went well and your mammo was good. Parenting a child successfully is a great accomplishment and very fulfilling.

Scotbird: Thanks, I have been trying try to keep myself from doing too much. One thing I do is just give in to sleep whenever I'm tired, and take as many breaks at work as I feel like, and eat whenever I want.

So even though I have lost my hair, had a mastectomy with no reconstruction, and going though chemo, I don't feel as self-conscious as I would've thought. In fact, I feel less self-conscious than ever. I'm even putting myself out there more than I ever have at work. I don't second guess myself like I used to. Sort of the opposite of what you would expect would happen but glad it's happening.

Anonymous

sswp - You’re doing so well!

Good morning!

sswp

Thanks for the encouragement Serenity.

Branded the company with a new logo and social media, had a cake made with the new logo to celebrate reaching sales targets earlier than expected. I've been through a lot personally with the company this past year, attacked by entitled ex-employees who consciously tried to discredit me and the company. So I had to take a moment to reflect on far we've come.

Got my daughter's band a gig to play at a Canada Day celebration this summer which we're really looking forward to.

Anonymous

sswp - Excited for your daughter!

Sorry for not posting much. Been working long hours. Gotta pay for the kitchen!

Anonymous

On the train home from an appointment downtown. Stopped at this great cafe. It was as delicious as it looks.

ScotBird

Serenity I love almond croissants. There are so many lovely places to eat near my work. It’s hard for me to balance the joy of eating lovely things with the joy of losing weight. I need to lose about 15lbs so almond croissants will have to be admired from afar!

I’m hoping to move house this year and have started getting the house ready to sell. New carpet yesterday in the bedroom of DD1 who is away at university. She previously had a grottyold carpet which was already in the house when we moved in 8 years ago. It looks so much better! X

Anonymous

ScotBird - The cafe is very close to where I used to work, but it wasn't there then. I was telling my husband it's good they opened after I left. Otherwise, I would have had a difficult time not having lunch there every day. They even deliver! Definitely not good when trying to lose weight. It was great last week after walking around in the cold though. Hope you can sell the house quickly. We have no plans to move. I'm glad we finally renovated the kitchen. It's the only room that we didn't like when we bought years ago. We do need to paint.

Today coffee only. Still delicious.

Anonymous

Elon Musk is ready if Synchronized Rocket Landing ever becomes an Olympic event.

alaskamama

I haven't been on BCO in several years (I am 4 years post treatment) but I just wrote a poem for no reason and wanted to share - in looking through the threads for an appropriate place I found - and love! - this thread. My little poem is a bit maudlin but it brought me a thin slice of joy today.

Still You

You feel you can't live without your hair

And then, slowly at first

And soon in clumps

And finally under the buzzsaw of the barber

It is gone.

And you are still alive.

You think your eyelashes are indispensable.

One by one

They flutter to your cheek

And disappear into the breeze.

And you are still here.

You think your breasts are an integral part of you.

Your body.

Your wholeness.

Your womanness.

Your you-ness.

And then one day

You wake from a fog of anesthestic

And your right breast is gone.

And you are still you.

TaRenee

My students did tongue twisters in class today as a competition for warm-ups. I haven’t laughed that hard in ages. We had a great time!

Anonymous

alaskamama - Welcome to the thread and congratulations on 4 years! I love your poem. Thank you so much for sharing.

TaRenee - I love the sound of kids laughing!

I've put in 3 long days this week. I'm taking tomorrow off to take my daughter to a show.

Anonymous

The show was amazing! I cried.

Jojobird

Alaskamama, thank you for that poem. I am so with you: one boob down, no fallopian tubes, hair still a thin wisp, but whatever. Still here, still drinking my coffee. Still cranky but giving it my best shot. Thank you for posting it!

I haven't read all of the recent posts but am grateful today for this community. I am always grateful for coffee, my goofy husband and daughter, the beautiful weather we've been having lately.

I am so very grateful for science. It saves lives. Thank you to the nurses, doctors, researchers, lab technicians,lab custodians and everyone who works to help heal us.

I'm grateful for a really good mojito. It is, after all, Friday.

Serenity, in looking at that almond croissant, it makes my mouth water. Enjoy every bite!

Hope everyone has a good day and a good weekend.

We're still here.

ScotBird

Good weekend here. My husband got a promotion at work. He is soooo happy and so am I. He really deserves the recognition

CeliaC

alaskamama - Lovely poem and thoughts. Welcome, and come back and post whenever the mood strikes you.

ScotBird - Yeah on DH's promo!

Serenity, TaRenee, jojobird (mojito Friday, yum!) and everyone else - gentle hugs and healing thoughts - We are all still here!