Girl's Weekend

My mom and sis came out last weekend to keep me company while I'm doing the radiation thing.

And we had a blast!!!

Since my dad and I had so much good father-daughter time while I was having all my surgeries, it was nice to get some "mom" time while I'm in DC.

They also came out so we could celebrate my mom's birthday weekend in style - and we did!

My sister is a great instigator of all things fun.  The very first night we made a couple of "rules":

1. Since it was Cherry Blossom Festival time here in DC - every time we went to a restaurant or cafe, we had to ask if they had a  "Cherry Blossom Special"  and if they did - we had to order it - no matter what.  It made for some very fun and interesting and often delicious items.
2. Every time we sat down to a meal - we toasted the birthday girl.  (My sister and I are both Leo's so we understand the importance of celebrating not just the day, but the whole month - or at least as much as you can).

The birthday girl said she had one of her best birthdays ever.  And I know I had a great time as well.

My sister is also a second-hand clothing store maven.  So we checked out much of DC's finest.  J. is always able to find that wonderful nugget buried beneath all the other stuff.  And then she puts it all together in a really great way.

And of course we talked the whole time - catching up on all the little things you don't often get to when you're just on a phone call.

So we had great food, great shopping, great talks - the perfect girl's weekend!

One Year Ago Today

Today is the one year anniversary of my first day as a Foreign Service Officer.

I can’t believe it’s only been a year since I first entered the Harry S. Truman Main State building and took the oath of office with my Vibrant classmates.

So many things have happened since then.

In the past year, our family packed up all our belongs and left our wonderful community in Berkeley and all our family and friends.  We moved across the country to Washington, DC and started with new jobs, school, housing – everything.

We’ve made new friends, learned about a new part of the country, learned a new language – Portuguese, lived in snow (sort of), and grown new communities. 

We’ve taken numerous plane flights, been to a few amusement parks, had many visitors.

We moved to another country on another continent in another hemisphere.  We've navigated new cultures, school systems, foods and lifestyles.

We’ve also dealt with serious illness and a far too-lengthy separation.

Yes – it’s been a year chock-full of adventures and growth experiences!

Unfettered Time

This recuperating time is time like I've never had before in my life.

I don't have to be anywhere or do anything for days on end.  All I'm supposed to be doing is resting and recuperating.  I'm in a hotel room all by myself.  I can get up when I want, go to sleep when I want, do anything when I want.  There is no one that I need to take care of, or talk to, or interact with.

Since I'm in a hotel room, I don't have any chores to do, no clean-up, no de-cluttering, no repair work.  None of those things that nag at you when you try to relax.

And since I've just had surgery, I don't have the energy to go sight-seeing, or shopping, or anything but rest.

It's very odd.

I am, by nature, a fairly busy person.  It's hard for me to relax and sit still (a fact that continues to challenge my husband).  But here I am and there's nothing for me to do and nothing I should be doing.

There's been lots of time for self-reflection:

• I've had a chance to ponder what my ideal schedule is - apparently I like to get up around 2 AM and putter for an hour or so and then go back to sleep.   And take a nap in the afternoon!
• I've realized I'm really not a TV or movie person - background noise is OK or when it's a shared experience.  
• I also don't need a lot of sound around me - music, NPR - I really like the quiet.

What I do really like to do is create.  Whether it's knitting, painting, cooking, gardening or sewing, I love to make something new - something that allows me to think outside the box and use all my senses.

I've been lucky to be able to borrow a sewing machine from a good friend (and fabulous author - check out her book!).  And as this time has gone on a bit longer than anyone anticipated, I've had loads of time to make things.  And one day my wonderful dad took me to Berkeley's fabulous quilting store as well as the wonderful fabric store so that I could buy some fabric.  The man is a saint - we looked at fabric for almost 3 hours!

I finally followed up on the passport covers that I've been wanting to make for a while.

And then I found a pattern and made some pencil cases to send to the kids while I'm away.  My dad picked out these fabrics.

I've recently discovered Pinterest and found a some great sewing projects there.

This shirt pattern I liked so much I made three.

And this top caught my eye as well.




















Then a skirt that was so fun I made two.














And lastly, this skirt.

As I said - I have a hard time sitting still.

Third Time's a Charm

So - all in all, I ended up having three surgeries to get it all out. 

The first one was the expected one.  The second one came about because the margins weren't clear - just needed to clean it up.

The third one came about because the second surgery showed that the cancer went a little further than they had expected.  I was given a choice.  I could have one much more involved surgery where they'd take everything and be done with it.  Or, they could go back in and try to get this last part - but if that didn't work, they would have to then go back and do the big surgery - it was up to me.

Luckily, I am one of those rare people who doesn't get horribly bothered by surgeries - I don't get sick, I don't get nervous.  I just relax and try to enjoy a day with people attending to me, lots of pain killers and the occasional hospital graham cracker, cranberry juice and if you're really lucky - jello.

I also didn't want to lose any more of me than I had to.  I wanted to keep as much of my feeling and self intact.  So - I opted for a third surgery and kept my fingers crossed.

My dad came up again.  The man is a saint.  He's come up the last three weeks.  Driving from LA on a Thursday, taking me to the hospital and attending to me on Friday and Saturday, and then driving back home on Monday.  Not to mention putting up with my dragging him to various fabric stores and spice stores and forcing him to eat at all these restaurants.  Well - that last part isn't true.  I've never had to force him to eat a restaurant.  He's been my willing partner in our eating binge.  We've had loads of fun - I took him to the latest hipster bar (where he almost got a PBR), and the famous Berkeley Cheeseboard Collective to get pizza, as well as other, fancier places.  It's been nice just the two of us.  We've had some great times - it reminds me of the time we drove across the country together.  It's amazing when it's just the two of us together, how much we are alike - quirky and weird in many of the same places.  I didn't get to see my mom during this time, which would have been nice, but I really appreciate the gift she gave my dad and me of spending so much quality time together.  She really took one for the team.  And besides - she's promised to come and visit me in DC - so we'll get our alone time as well.

This third surgery was very hard on my family.  For them - stuck in Brazil without me, it felt like yet another delay in a seemingly endless set of delays that was keeping us apart.  The slow torture of it could push anyone over the edge.  Luckily, with a little rest and time, balance and grounding does comes back.

The results came back a week later - as usual.  Luckily this time it worked - they got it all!!!!

I now am headed to DC for the next stage of my treatment and will also be able to work at the Mothership.  One step closer to being with my family!