what passes for normal

This is what we did today:

In case it's not obvious, the boys are being Wolverine (as so ably played by Hugh Jackman in the Xmen movies).

We used coffee grounds to make the chest hair.

Look at this angelic child. Surely not the same one who's temper tantrums are legendary in these parts.

We had a busy Canada Day with friends and family. I was feeling relaxed and quite celebratory (my own personal no-more-chemo milestone trumping my feelings about Stephen Harper and the Tories). It slowly started to sink in on this beautiful long week end that I am not recovering in order to get ready for the next round. I am done. No. More. Chemo. I am so relieved.

We are in chaos at the moment; trying to get organized to get out of town for a couple of weeks. The house is a mess, we are still working our way through our to do list and my spouse and I have been more than a little irritable with each other. If we are all still speaking to each other, it will be good to get away. I'm going to pretend I'm not a cancer patient, just a very tired bald person.

I've had my "radiation planning session" last week (more on that in a future post) and am now in the queue for radiation. I could be waiting anywhere from two weeks to two months. I plan to use that time working at feeling healthy again. I'm going to do a running clinic for breast cancer survivors at the Running Room (www.runningroom.com) and maybe take up yoga again.

Unfortunately, I seem to have developed lymphedema in my right arm. I am trying not to feel sorry for myself but it does feel pretty unfair. You can find more info on lymphedema at www.breastcancer.org and http://www.cancersupportivecare.com/lymphedema.html.

Thanks to all those who sent messages of condolences about Emma-dog. She was a lovely beast and we miss her terribly. As someone pointed out in the comments, we have fourteen years of beautiful memories.