I know I haven’t written for a while so I thought I would update the blog.
I had my blood work done last Thursday and all of my levels are normal again. My CA125 was 11.7! I still have the neuropathy in my feet. It is difficult to walk barefoot as there are so many places on the bottom of my feet that I still cannot feel. And if I’m on my feet too much they start to throb. But this is such a minor issue in the whole scheme of things.
Otherwise, I have been feeling great and so many wonderful opportunities have been arriving.
I absolutely LOVE my new job as counselor for a middle school. Every morning I look forward to what the day will bring. I never have to do any discipline with the students. Years ago I developed my own personal mission statement of what I felt was my main purpose in life. “To motivate and inspire others to reach their highest potential”. I get to live that mission each and every day now. I come home with a full heart every night. I am doing what I was meant to do.
One of the teachers at my school is in a band and when she heard that I used to play music professionally, she asked me to join her band. Such an exciting opportunity! Again, I don’t have to do any of the stuff I didn’t like before, like booking the band, dealing with the club owners, or having to “talk” with band members. I get to just show up, sing, and play bass. And that leads me to another awesome journey. I met an incredible bass player and asked her if she would consider teaching. She agreed and I have my first real bass lesson this Thursday night. I’m so excited! I had played bass for years but never had a lesson. Now I will be able to play and really know the instrument. Great stuff!
The new band is coming over to the ShanDar Saloon on Saturday evening to jam and just get to know each other. I’m really looking forward to that.
I have thirteen quilt tops waiting to be quilted. Guess I’d better stop piecing and get to quilting. Some of them are Christmas presents, so I’d better get going! :)
I have only one more interview to do and then I am done with that phase of my dissertation. I’m currently transcribing the interviews I have done and when that is completed I can focus on the coding and then writing the final two chapters. I can see the light at the end of the Ph.D. tunnel! I plan to spend most of the 3 week Winter Break, completing the first draft so I can get it to my committee by mid-January. I seem to be running the course for that goal.
I still want to work on eating healthier, exercising, and a regular meditation practice. I start and stop with these. It seems so easy to slip back into old habits that are not conducive to health. Even if I can do one of these things each day, I will be doing myself a favor.
One of the many lessons I learned from having had cancer is to be mindful of each commitment I make. My intention is to limit activities that do not bring me joy. And also to keep my commitments manageable. It is so easy for me to over commit to too many activities. Right now I have the Ph.D., quilting, singing, and relearning to play bass. I am not adding anything else to this list for now. When the Ph.D. is completed, I can replace that with something else if I choose. As tempting as it is to volunteer for a position at my quilt guild or at my school site, I am being very mindful of keeping my hand down. My mentor, who is now also the chair of my Ph.D. committee, passed on some sage advice. Whenever faced with a decision, the question to ask is “what do I love and what do I love more?” I think of that lesson each and every day. It seems to be an essential question for me.
That is all for now. I’ll try to update this blog every couple of weeks.
Big hugs to each and every one of you!
Dar
