Sunday, January 24th, 2016 journal entry… “Happy 3rd Birthday, Caleb.  Today we are going to eat with Mickey Mouse.  Caleb liked the characters at a distance.  He didn’t want to shake hands or give hugs to any of them or get his picture taken.  It was cute.  He did give Goofy a high-five.  We got a few pictures.  Went to Disney and had a good time.  Caleb loved the parades.  We saw three.  I think.  Rode a few rides and walked around.  The weather was nice when the sun was out.  A little chilly in the evening.  Stayed for the last parade.  Held Caleb during the electric parade and…

  January 8, 2016… “Got a phone call about the PET scan.  They can do my test earlier in the day.  They had 2 cancellations, so I am going in at 12 to have it done.  Amanda and Becky are going to be there with me.”   Laura had her test much earlier than expected.  I’m glad she doesn’t have to wait all day.  I know how eager and nervous she was.  She can get this over with and have all her answers. ‘Everything go okay?’ “The test went well.  I don’t have the results yet.  It took about 2 hours.” ‘Good.’ “Everything is good.  Thank you.  Been busy since…

  Christmas break was over, and it was time to head back to school.  I wasn’t ready to return just yet, I could use a couple of more weeks.  The last conversation I had with Laura, was when we were talking about her upcoming trip.  ‘I can’t believe you are going to Florida.’ “Yep! I am. (Followed by two emojis… A palm tree and a smiley face.)  ‘That’ going to be so much fun.’   Laura was waiting to get excited for this trip.  She was waiting for the Doctor’s word that she could go.  It wasn’t until after he gave her the okay, that her mood finally changed.  She…

  “She said, Yes to the dress!” Saturday, December 26th.  Journal entry…   “Today I slept in a little.  Then up to put things away.  Had a dress appointment at 11:30.  Today Rachel said yes to her dress.  She chose the strapless dress.  We will add lace sleeves.  It looks so pretty on her.  So glad she found what she was looking for.  Grandma and Debbie/David were able to stop by and look at it as well.  They really liked the dress.  It was good that they were able to come by and be a part of this experience with Rachel.  Dad would love this dress.  I know he would…

  “Hi, I need your address.  And Brandi’s.” ‘Maybe I don’t want you to know where I live.’ “I know where you live.  LOL.  You want to come to the wedding?” ‘Fine.  It’s……’ “Thank you.  That wasn’t so bad, was it?  Working on the addresses right now.” ‘Hey, I read another good one.  Story time…   Just up the road from my home is a field with two horses in it.  From a distance, each looks like every other horse.  But if you stop your car or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing.  Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind.  His…

  “Hi.  How are you doing?” ‘I’m doing good.  How about you?  Are you ready to go back to work?’ “Doing good.  I guess. LOL.  I will come up with something for us to do tomorrow.” ‘Yeah, I wondered about that.  Since I was sick, I didn’t have a chance to get anything ready for the week.’ “It will be ok.  Only a few more weeks to plan before break. Well… They are putting an offer on a house.” ‘They are?’  Getting a little more real.  Huh?’ “I will send you the address so you can look it up.” ‘Wow!  It looks really nice.  I love it!’ “Me too!” ‘Nice…

  Early Thursday morning, my phone goes off… 3:01 A. M.   “I can’t sleep.  Mind is going.  Heart racing.  I know I can do this.  It’s so real.  It’s been one year.  I am happy but still nervous.”   I stared at my phone for close to ten minutes.  I thought we were done with these middle of the night texts.  She just got the all clear from her scans and the last time we talked she was happy.  It took me a minute to open my eyes, and another minute to gather my thoughts. ‘It’s just a day.  You will feel some sad emotions, yes.  But you will…

  Birthdays take on a different meaning when you have cancer.  It goes from another year older, to thanking God for another year here.  Today Laura is celebrating hers.  Happy Birthday Laura! Sunday, November 8th, 2015   “Happy Birthday to me!  Today I am 53 years old.  I am so happy to be here and to celebrate with my family and friends.  I am grateful for everything everyone has done for me.  All the prayers and all the support.  My birthday was awesome.  My family was here.  We had a great dinner and just being together.   I love that!  Lots of birthday wishes.  Feeling the love today.”   Laura had…

  Laura needed to do something to get out of her funk.  The best way to do that was to color her hair.  She has been waiting MONTHS for the okay to do this.  Chemo was over, so she felt it was time to get on with her life.  She went to the store to pick out a box of color.  This was something she decided she could do at home.  Her first attempt left her with a color she didn’t like.  According to her… She thought she would like it, but after it dried, it was a little too much red and brown.  They didn’t have the color she…

  Laura called and asked me if I would do something for her.  She wanted to know if I would go with her to see about some counseling.  The Doctor’s office had sent her some information about ‘Gilda’s Club’.  I didn’t know it at the time, but ‘Gilda’s Club’ is an organization named in honor of the comedian, Gilda Radner.     According to their website… ‘When Gilda Radner was describing the experience she had at a Los Angeles cancer support center, she dreamed that such places could be made available for people living with cancer and their friends and families everywhere.  Gilda died from ovarian cancer in 1989.  With the…