Full circle

Life is interesting in so many ways. 
In the last year my sweet husband has dealt with, and is still recovering from, serious heart issues and a second stroke. I’ve had to face the advancement of my own cancer and a clinical trial with its own tribulations. We have spent many, many hours in hospitals, doctor’s offices, at physical, speech and occupational therapy sessions and recuperating at home.

During all of the above, Sarah and I rescued a mother cat and her three kittens in the middle of an ice storm. We fostered them at our house until they could be placed at Paws4ever , a no-kill shelter. We were happy to learn that all have been adopted! We continue to spoil our own pets as much as we can and they reward us with many hours of entertainment and cuddles.

Doug and I have made a conscious decision to live as well as we can despite our health issues. We’ve enlisted the help of Kim, a health coach, to find ways to enhance our health and everyday life with meditation, movement and a healthier way of eating. Salt has become Doug's nemesis, so we avoid restaurant food and have learned to prepare only fresh and whole foods at home. Doug is becoming the crock pot king! I've learned to chop garlic!

Through Facebook I’ve reconnected with friends from as far back as first grade and just recently my college freshman-year roommate. I don’t know if this is a conscious need to touch base with my younger self and long ago life, or just the magic of the Internet. My last trip to Savannah I was able to spend a wonderful evening visiting with two friends I had not seen in nearly 50 years. Even though a lot of time had passed, and our friendship was originally that of little girls playing together, I really liked the people they had become!

At the same time I’m somewhat disconnected from my own siblings, partly my choice, partly theirs’. Sadly, it’s been a year since I’ve been able to go down to see my mother. Luckily she has a group of wonderful caretakers and is kept busy and active at her assisted living facility causing my once daily phone calls to her to have dwindled drastically, something I do miss. However I continue to relish the close relationship I have with certain cousins and friends.

Yes, life is interesting. 
As I face my uncertain future, I reach out to my past. Not to re-live it, but maybe because it was a much simpler time, something so very attractive in my complicated life today. Maybe it’s to heal the little girl I was with my now adult vantage point and understanding or maybe it’s just to hold on to who I am, to make my life whole and complete the circle of "me."