Deck the Halls

I woke up this morning determined to go to work. I opened my eyes, took a deep breath, and sat up. Every ounce of my being hoped that I would not experience the bone pain associated with the white blood cell booster and that I would be good to go for a day out. When I sat up, I felt good! And I was as happy as Ebenezer on Christmas morning.

As I drove in this morning, I was thrilled to be in my routine. I pulled into the parking garage behind my boss and he seemed surprised to see me. We rode the elevator up, and it was so nice to just have small talk about work. Next I headed to my office to get settled. And what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a Christmas scene full of holiday cheer! My workspace was completely decked out with a Christmas Tree, ornaments hanging from the ceiling, and garland draped from the windows and shelves. It was colorful and made me think of Whoville! It was even more pleasant because our decorating at home has been minimal thus far. We’ve pulled a few things out, but it just hasn’t been a priority. Not for lack of spirit – cause we’ve got that coming out our ears! But the logistics of getting it done seems to have eluded us this year.

It was nice to talk to folks around the office, and it was kind of weird to hear so many people say “I’ve been keeping up with your blog!” It was great to have so many folks stop by and I’m glad that people aren’t acting awkward and feel comfortable asking questions. That may change when I’m bald and become a poster child for cancer, but for now it seems I can have a little “normal”.

I actually did some productive work for a bit, and then went out to lunch with my co-workers. We had fantastic Mexican food and it was nice to chill out and relax. I showed them photos of my Pet Scan and they are probably all home this evening talking about the weird girl in their office who wouldn’t shut up about her cancer!

I left work a little early at Robbie’s urging. He is the voice in my head that says “Take it easy, remember, your job is to fight cancer right now.” Today was great for my mental health though, and I’m thrilled that I went to work.

So many people say to me “You’re such a trooper! You’re so strong!” I have to dispute that a bit. I would say that a more accurate description would be that I’m one of the lucky few that fall into a group that can handle chemotherapy very well. And I currently have steroids. Today was my last dose of those though, and who knows, by tomorrow I might have to resort to actually being a trooper.

Shout out to Terri, Leslie and others for decking the halls. The decorations totally made my day. Shout out to Varj . for picking up the tab for my Mexican feast today. Shout out to Melissa and Janis for putting up with my cancer jokes on our call today. Oh heck, shout out to all ya’ll for reading this and keeping me in your thoughts. Maybe you’re the reason I’m getting through this so well.