I did it! I had my last "fill" Thursday and am now just waiting for my surgery date! As you can see, I look pretty "normal" in my clothes now.
Dang it, I still need to lose that tummy! But there's a lot less of me now than when I began this journey!
Arghhhh, no make up or jewelry tonight! That's a rarity for me anymore!
Arghhhh, no make up or jewelry tonight! That's a rarity for me anymore!
Now, I'll be honest, they are not proportioned and they are not soft and they are not pretty.......but he assures me that he will fix all of that at surgery time and I trust he will! My surgery is a month away....December 2. It just amazes me what they can do nowadays!
This last "fill" really pumped the smaller one up beyond the larger one. And it is so uncomfortable, even under my arm. It must really be stretching that muscle! But, I know it will come to an end soon and I will feel so much better when these are removed in December. I've been told by one of my "cancer sisters" who has already had the surgery that it is "instant relief"! I can do this....almost there!!!!
In the beginning I really, really did not want to do this! But, now, in spite of the pain and discomfort, I can honestly say I'm glad I did. I think once I'm through all of this, I will feel better about how I look and won't have the disfigurement to constantly remind me of what this cancer did to my body. It's not that I'm a "vain" person at all, but I think doing this will bring me emotional closure. Does that make sense?
Another surprise on my porch....
I opened the door today to discover another surprise on my front porch.
Isn't this beautiful? Even though there was no note with it, I have a high suspicion who it was from and if you are reading this, thank you. That was very kind of you. I know it is handmade, which I love! It looks like it's made from vases, goblets, glass plates....really pretty. There is a solar light in the top.
She even painted a pink ribbon at the top. Too cool!
A SPECIAL NIGHT WITH THE FAMILY!
There's not much "medical" going on with me right now, so I hope you don't mind me just sharing my "life" with you.
It was Halloween night and we went down to Jen & Joe's house for Trick or Treat night. I treasure these special times with my family and tonight was no exception. Because of our location we just don't get any trick or treaters, but Jen and Joe live in a neighborhood that is swarming with them. So, it's become our tradition to go down to their house and walk around with them and watch our grandchildren trick or treat. Plus they always make a pot of chili...yum....any night I get out of cooking is a good night! LOL! Although I do have to admit I've been cooking more and more in my crock pot and really enjoying it. But, every woman enjoys a "night off", don't they?
So, we went down and walked around the neighborhood with our little ghosts....Abby and Luke.
Funny thing about these costumes....my daughter, Jen, is real creative and when she asked her children what they wanted to be for Halloween they both wanted to be ghosts. Jen wasn't satisfied with this overdone costume idea and didn't consider it creative enough for her, so she tried so hard to talk them into something else. But, she finally gave in when Luke said to her, "But, mommy, I've been practicing, listen.....oooooooh ooooooooh (in his best ghostly voice). LOL, that melted Jen's heart and she knew at that moment that ghosts they would be!
Before we left to head to Jen's, I whipped up a little Halloween surprise for my 3 grandchildren. I stamped and wrapped Hershey Nuggets for them.
Here's my little ghosts with their Nugget Tins. My older granddaughter is at that age (13) that she's not fond of me taking her picture....but she got one too! :=)
Jennifer and Joe live in an awesome neighborhood, which is actually part of the area I grew up in. I walked up to many of these same houses many years ago to trick or treat.
Oh how I loved Halloween as a child. We didn't have a set night or set hours and our parents didn't walk around with us. We also didn't have packaged costumes. I remember going through old clothes in the closet and throwing our costumes together. And I remember Mom helping us and she really got a kick out of it. Us siblings would take off and walk all over (the older ones watching out for the younger ones), going to every house and collecting the biggest bag of loot a child could wish for! There was no porch light rule and it was a simpler time in America, where no one had to be afraid of anything they got to eat! And when people ran out of candy, they started giving out quarters! Back then a quarter was a big deal to a kid! Oh the memories!!! Walking around this neighborhood tonight reminded me of those simpler times. I so enjoyed the children in their costumes having so much fun.
Back then people also didn't decorate their yards and homes like they do today. There would be jack-o-lanterns, but that was pretty much it. Walking around this neighborhood, it was amazing to me the extent that people got their yards ready for the trick or treaters. Here's just a sampling of some of the houses that were ready for the trick or treaters, complete with fog and creepy music. LOL! As a child, I probably would have been too chicken to walk up to any of them! But, the people were sitting outside to pass the candy out and the kids didn't seem freaked out a bit. The scariest thing we had back then was Sammy Terry!
I love it that my grandchildren also get to hand candy out before they head out to trick or treat themselves.
Another fond memory of my childhood this time of year was "corning". Did you do this?
This is what our front porch looks like and it makes me smile when I walk outside and see it and it brings back those memories. It drives my husband crazy and I told him about "corning" as a child and he was shocked to learn we actually went around throwing corn onto people's porches! It was so much fun....throw that handful of corn and run as fast as you could! Of course this was a tradition when we became teenagers.....and I remember one old man on the street behind us turning his dog loose on us. I don't think I have run as fast in my life as I did the night I flew down the alley back to my house with that dog chasing us! It's funny how some things you just never forget! After my husband acted so shocked that we did such a thing, he said, "well, we corned cars going by, not houses". Well, duh, does he think that was better? They could have caused a wreck....lol! I guess that was the difference in growing up in town versus the country. We also went "soaping" (never used paraffin though). He said he never did that either! Oh what fun it was! That's probably the most "mischief" I got into as a teenager.
I don't think kids "corn" anymore. So, how did we get all of that corn on our porch?
Do you see him? They come up to our porch every day to get into my corn stalk decorations. It drives Larry crazy that they get on the porch, but doesn't bother me a bit....as long as they don't get in the house. My hubby needs to lighten up...lol!
He saw me there with the camera and it didn't phase him a bit. I think he just wanted me to go back in the house so he could get his corn...lol!
As our lives change, I look at my past traditions with fond memories...and stay open to begin new traditions. It was such fun doing Halloween as a child and then taking my own children around...but now our new tradition is to leave our home and go over to their neighborhood to watch our grandchildren enjoy the night. It's a great time!
As we move forward, we are making plans to begin a new tradition for Thanksgiving. It is so hard on our grown children to try to arrange and run around to two dinners on the same day, so we often times have them over for Thanksgiving dinner on another day. It's more relaxed having dinner when someone doesn't have to rush off to another one...less stress for everyone. With my mom and dad gone now and no more big family get-togethers, we have found just the two of us alone on Thanksgiving before. I'll be honest....I just can't get into fixing a special Thanksgiving dinner for just the two of us. One year we even went to Cracker Barrel. This year we are making plans to enjoy Thanksgiving in Brown County, Indiana. We are re-discovering the special places so close to home and making new traditions.
Until next time.....be open to beginning "new traditions" in your own life. Life changes....especially after your children are grown and out of the house or after you lose your parents......and sometimes we just need to be flexible and change things up a bit. I call these "chapters in life". Every new chapter can bring new blessings and new experiences and I'm learning to move forward instead of being "stuck in the past". The past has great memories that will never fade but the future holds more memories waiting to be made!
Cindy
No comments:
Post a Comment