Brave and Crazy

This is a picture of my wrist with a breast cancer bracelet on it. And I'm not taking it off until my friend Janice is declared officially cancer free.

She had a mastectomy last week, as well as removal of every lymph node they could find on the left side of her body, after what I can only assume is a typical whirlwind experience for those diagnosed with breast cancer. One day, a lump. The next, tests and doctor's appointments and surgeries scheduled and wig shopping and web pages created to organize the army of help she'll need to tend to her 5 and 8-year-old daughters.

Forget for a moment the fact that her husband left her less than two years ago. And forget the fact that the reason he left is basically that one of her daughters is a blond, beautiful angel who happens to have Down's Syndrome (and a host of health problems related to it), requiring a great deal of extra care.

Yes, forgetting all of that for a moment, I'm still left with a mind-numbing bewilderment at the brutal unfairness of the universe.

Her pathology report should come in tomorrow, giving us the complete test results and status of her cancer. Whatever stage, whatever the prognosis, she's more mentally tough and positive and brave than I could ever hope to be. Spending the day with her earlier this week to help care for her post-surgery was just a peek into the road ahead, I'm sure. Chemo and radiation ain't pretty.

But I've got my money on Jan. And I'm not getting too attached to my new bracelet. It'll be a great day when I can hurl it into the dumpster.

New Year's Day

Editor's note: I love it when I get to use U2 titles for my blog posts.










Entering 2008, I'm faced with the following challenges:

* I've eaten my way through the last 2 months of 2007 and cannot expect to continue in this manner if I ever plan to wear my current wardrobe again

* I've slept in, watched too many movies and cheesy tv shows, read gobs of books and otherwise lolly-gagged my way through the last 2 weeks of 2007, and cannot expect to continue in this manner if I ever plan to earn a paycheck or get my children to school on time next week

* my friend Janice is knee-deep in her chemo and the road ahead is long and ugly

* it's cold, gray and snowy in Michigan, and I hate the cold (I could live with pretty snow if it wasn't gray or cold)--and yet I live in Michigan

* I have absolutely no idea how to hook-up the Wii that's been sitting in my living room since Christmas morning

* Girl Scout cookies are coming soon (please refer to first challenge above)

* I rejoice in Obama's success but can't see past his inexperience, and question Hillary's ability to get anything done with the Haters that will come up against her if she's in office

* I need a new cell phone and the options are a quagmire of overwhelming, largely unnecessary technology

Not wholly unsurmountable as challenges go, but a few of 'em are tough nuts.