One thing that having a major illness will teach you is that each and every minute, of each and every day is precious. You really never know how many more of those moments that you'll have. Having cancer teaches us to stop: smell the roses and embrace the little things in life and to definitely not sweat the small stuff. It's something that I've always tried to do, or at least aimed to do. But, as many of us have, I've been caught up in the hustle and bustle of the world and life in general. Now, I'm greatly saddened to think of all of the moments that I've been missing over the years and all the time that I spent worrying about things that just weren't that damn important.
It's not hard to teach yourself to enjoy each of the breathtaking moments that surround us on a daily basis, all we have to do is STOP and JUST DO IT! It doesn't take that long, doesn't usually involve any muscles, and is certainly very inexpensive. As for controlling the worrying over the small stuff, that's a bigger challenge, but one that just evolves as you forge your way through cancer treatment. Things that stressed you out prior to cancer, just don't phase you. You're focused on beating cancer, and while the 3 baskets of dirty clothes in the laundry room deserve a certain amount of attention, you know that they'll still be there no matter how long it takes you to get to them. I notice that in some ways, I am becoming like Teflon, things are just bouncing off of me, things that certainly would have sent me into an OCD kind of rage several months ago.
I am sure there are tons and tons of precious moments in each and every day. I am surrounded by a wonderful family, friends, and 2 amazing boxer dogs... there are bound to be tons of precious moments each and every day. But in an effort to retrain myself, I'm making a commitment to myself to stop and enjoy at least 3 little breathtaking moments every day. Soon, I won't even have to think about it. I will just be in that mode, suddenly I will start noticing all kinds of moments around me that I didn't know were there. I am in training to be an even better Superwoman!
Here are a few of the breathtaking, precious moments that I have enjoyed over the last several weeks. These are things that I probably wouldn't have taken the time to stop and reflect on in my way too busy pre-cancer life- I probably would have just breezed right through them and never stopped to realize how precious they actually were. I am most certainly learning to slow it down, and I've got to say, it's definitely agreeing with me.
My husband I spent a morning in the yard, trimming our palm tree branches. When we were all done, he put the tailgate of the truck down, and we sat in the driveway drinking coffee, and smooching every now and then. The neighbors probably thought us loco... but it was a very relaxing and peaceful morning for both of us. I have always loved how easily he and I can work together on projects, it's a true blessing that we can do this.
I was blessed to spend an hour with one of chemo buddies on Friday afternoon. She has a huge, infectious smile, and is positively beautiful inside and out, she radiates and it's positively contagious! She gave me a giant hug, and I was so happy that she seems like she's enduring her chemo well, and that she could give me such a big, strong hug! I really needed the hug, and also to realize that she's doing so well! She is almost finished with her treatments, so we will only have 1 more chemo session left together, I'm really gonna miss her!
I was blessed again to meet another gal that is also battling breast cancer on Monday afternoon. We had a very relaxing couple of hours, sipping (very delicious) iced tea, and talking about how cancer has changed our lives and the challenges surrounding it. Not only did I enjoy our time together, but I left there feeling very refreshed and very energized. There is a certain sense of strength that we can gather from being around other people who are facing the same challenges that we are. I can honestly say that my friendship with this bold little warrior is a blessing of cancer.
And while this one may seem odd... I'm blessed because I am alive, and cancer free and I was able to complete a very grueling workout yesterday. My legs screamed this morning as I climbed the stairs to my office, but I don't even care because I am alive, and I am cancer free, and I know that while it hurts like a SOB now... that those legs are going to be stinking amazing! One day at a time...
No comments:
Post a Comment