Bringing in the New Year



Annual Photo
 (All part of the Spain Trip contingent except Mom)

Happy New Year! It is already the 2nd and the year has started off on a good note – I feel good today! Even went to the gym.

I won’t write about making resolutions, I did that last year. The only observation I will make is that over the last two days I have seen in the paper and heard on NPR news people making resolutions for others. Editors and so called experts making resolutions for everyone from Angelina Jolie to Ben Bernanke. WHO CARES!

We have had a wonderful holiday. I dreaded the thought of getting chemo on the Thursday before Christmas. I would have asked my doctor if I could skip the treatment, but I didn’t get to see her. She was in a bad car accident and will be out of commission for a good while (dread!). I did manage to get an appointment for this month with a young oncologist I heard speak at one of the conferences I went to and am quite happy about that.

During my treatment we had a few visitors. Lisa R came for a bit, then Lisa M and Barbara H came and we played scrabble and snacked on Barbara’s wonderful cookies. Lisa wanted to give me a foot massage. Reluctantly I agreed. I admit I felt awkward; first in having a friend spend her time pampering me and second, because my feet are so awful from the chemo. What a wonderful treat that was! These visits give Thierry a break and help the eight hour treatment day go by quickly. I left in a great mood which lasted for several days. I was surprised at how good I felt the days following – better than I had after all the three previous treatments.

We celebrated Christmas Eve at home, having a spaghetti and clams dinner with Barbara and Barry. Kirk and Lisa joined us for drinks and Lauren and Mike came over to spend this night. On Christmas Day everyone rallied around and we had a great time and lots of food. I made another venison stew, Ann brought shrimp, Koniko made her incredible sushi, Jean made sautéed mushrooms with garlic and hot peppers, Joan brought snacks, Lisa made the salad, Lauren brought the Yule log! Joan also brought a game which kept us entertained for a bit and the conversation flowed. Lauren and Mike stayed over again Christmas night – another wonderful treat. Lauren and I fell asleep on the sofa watching the Wizard of Oz. Mike gave Thierry and I our most prized gifts of the season: a radio controlled helicopter for Thierry and a foot massager for me! We have used them every day since.

The first snow of the season fell on Sunday, close to a foot. We got a call that afternoon from Barbara, who suggested we all meet up at a bar for drinks then head to Lisa M’s for dinner. Normally I would have bowed out, but decided I wasn’t going to miss the fun of a first snow again (last year I hunkered down while Thierry went out). I was very glad I did, and managed to last for quite a while – although I was in bed by 10:00.

I had two days of meetings during the week and am thrilled to be working with an old chum that I haven’t seen in a couple of years. The project, if it goes off, should be a fun one, and working with Marian will be a wonderful experience.

We had dinner twice with my sister and her friend Teresa from Spain, who spent several hours over the week working on my feet.

Thursday was the family wine tasting. My brother and his wife came for the first time, which made it even more of a special event. The wines were from different regions in Italy, a sparkling, two whites and three reds. The food gets more creative and plentiful every year. Another great party and everyone seemed to be pretty sober when they left.

Friday morning I had a meltdown. Maybe it was all the activity that occurred during the week; maybe it was too much booze, perhaps the chemo. On top of that it was our second wedding anniversary so the guilt of being short-tempered and cranky only made me teary and more frustrated. Thierry and I went for a walk and picked up a scrumptious pound cake made by a friend of ours. It was good to get out in the fresh air and relatively warm weather. When we got back, I took a long nap. Feeling much better when I got up, we went out to dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate. I slept more when we returned, waking in time to prep a few things for New Year’s Eve. A few friends stopped by to join us in bringing in the New Year and watching the fireworks from our condo.

On New Year’s Day Thierry went to the Mummers parade while I went to join in a farewell lunch for Teresa who was returning that day to the Canaries. We will miss her terribly. Lisa M (what an angel) wanted to do my feet again, so she and Barbara came over and we played scrabble, which Barbara won, and I got a great massage. I awoke today feeling incredibly good and, as I mentioned, went to the gym for the 2nd time in about two months! I think the foot massage has more therapeutic powers than I realized.

If the year continues the way it started – it is going to be an outstanding one!