Friday, June 27, 2008

A Few Things

Sometimes it seems as though days are just melting into each other. Things that I thought happened weeks ago, even months, turned out actually happened 4 or 5 days ago. Weird.



My dad's brother and his wife visited from California. They got here on the 25th and left today. What a great visit! Don & Karen & my mom and I went out to eat one night. We grilled another night, and I treasured the time not only for me, but also for Don and my dad. There was one point at dinner when I looked over at Don and saw my grandma's eyes in his. It was so comforting.....

***I am putting this section in because last night, when I first started this post, the power went out. I am happy that good old Blogger saved it as a draft so that I can continue tonight. A tree branch (a large tree branch) fell off of a tree and landed on wires and knocked a lot of us out of power. It was like out of a movie. The power went out and all of a sudden, everyone is coming out of their homes, looking at each other. It was a good time for a beer run, and we stayed up until after 2am, hanging out on our front step with our neighbor. I laughed. A lot. To me, that was a little sign that I was not ready to complete the post last night. That I needed a little bit of a break, even if it was a few hours, from all that is unfolding around me. So, with that, here's the rest of the post.***

My grandma passed away almost 6 years ago. I felt blessed to see her again through Don.

I am about a month behind in asking for donations for the Mississippi Shuffle this year. As most of you know, we do the Relay for Life each summer. We have been involved for the last 6 years. The summer after my diagnosis was an emotional walk. I don't know how I am feeling this year. We all know that it is for a great cause as most of us have been touched by cancer one way or another. I don't know if it is part of my bitterness or what, but as I said, I am behind. How behind? I have nothing. No money raised. Nada. Zip. I have to get my act together. So this is me getting my act together.......

There are many reasons to donate to the American Cancer Society. I am one. With funds from organizations like this, more and more people, like me, can get into studies, more research can be done to pinpoint cancers, the causes and hopefully the cures. Here's another reason. I would not wish on anyone what our family is going through. I can only hope and pray that you don't watch your dad (or mom, or brother, or sister, etc) waste away to nothing. I hope and pray that through the American Cancer Society and the money raised, that you won't have to watch what I am watching. each dollar raised gets us that closer to finding a cure for this beast that takes so many lives each year, and effects so many others. If you are interested in donating, let me know. I will get the info to you that you will need. In the meantime, have a peek here or here (after scrolling down a bit), or even here.

So let's see....what else? One of my brother's is flying (literally flying the plane) here with his daughter to see my dad tomorrow. He'll stay for a few hours and then fly back home. My other brother will be coming up on the train on Monday night. He has broken his leg so this might get interesting. I have no clue how he is going to get up and down stairs as he can't put any weight on it. Blah blah blaaaahhhhh....oogie boogie. That's all I've got on that stuff.

There's more, but I need to stop for now. Breaks are good. Tree branches falling on power lines are good. Too much thinking? Not so much.

2 comments:

Eve said...

Sue,
Just want to introduce myself - I'm your Uncle Don's wife's (Karin) sister Eve. They were just visiting with us here, in St. Cloud, too. Karin sent me the link to your blog a couple of days ago. It's great! Your dad and Don look so much alike! So sorry for all you've gone through with the breast cancer. I'm a member of that same sorority that no one wants to be a member of. I also noticed you have a link to the FORCE website, which I visit often. I've been meeting with the Minneapolis group since it was formed. Tho I'm not BRCA positive (that I know of), FORCE has been such a great resource about side-effects of treatment and recon options, and so supportive. I'll be thinking of you in the weeks ahead. So sorry about your dad. I lost mine a few years ago. It was hard being aware of the potential "lasts" (Father's Day, birthday, etc.) But you sound like a very spunky lady and surely do have lots of blessings in your life! So hang in there. It's nice to make your cyber-acquaintance!
Sincerely,
Eve

Eliza Brock said...

Crazy talk! Branches taking the power out, wow.