Aunt Janet

Special moment with Aunt Janet on my wedding day.
A picture and moment I'll never forget.

A Perfect Ending to a Long Day

Yesterday would have been a wonderful day at work under normal circumstances. Everything going on with Aunt Janet was a bit distracting for me. I like to feel my feelings and process them, however I can't do that at work. It made my day seem very long. Yet if it were any other day, I would have left work with a smile on my face and enjoyed the sunshine on my drive home.

Instead I went home dreading the idea of cooking dinner. That's simply not me at all. I love cooking and I'm good at it!!! It's one of the things I do to show how much I appreciate my hardworking husband. Last night before I was home, Jon had straightened up the house and had dinner ideas of his own. Quick and easy was on the menu... Chicken nuggets and potatoes. Not my favorite, but hey, I didn't have to cook and he loved it. He knew I was having a rough day and by taking the burden of cooking off me for one night, he did so much more than I could explain. After a quick nap and a bit of TV Jon left for his Monday night bowling league.

Chanda and her lovely sweet daughters came over to hang out with me while Jon was gone... Chanda's mission: make me laugh! My mission: Give her sore back a rest, make her laugh, and introduce her to everything Sensaria! lol We made monkey bread together (it's my new favorite), played with all of my Sensaria products (I'm addicted), goofed around with the kids (a full work out), and then Jon cam home (dun-dun---dun). Chanda's youngest Chloe plays shy with Jon. She flirts with him, but has always ran past him and avoided eye contact. She literally has never given him a "high-five" or a hug goodbye. Last night was the first time she has actively played with Jon. She was tickling him, jumping on the bed with him (yes- Jon jumped on our bed and I thought it was going to break), eating Ruffles with him, and grabbing his hand to take him along to whatever new activity she could find. It was the most adorable & hilarious hour I have ever spent with that little girl. Jon was in HEAVEN! Soon after the jumping on the bed, we realized it was 11:00pm and way past our bed time and the sweet little girls. Chanda loaded them into the car, gave big hugs, and headed to her home 5 minutes away. Now that Chloe is all about Jon, we'll see how it goes the next time they're together... that will be the real test.

It was such a perfect night. I stayed up 2 hours later than I normally do, but it was so worth it. I had a great time with my best friend, two sweet girls, and a goofy husband. A night to remember for sure...

At a Loss

I love my job, my co-workers, and my patients. I work in radiation oncology and hematology/oncology clinic. But like any job, there are days I don't want to do it. Some days are so much harder for me than others. I'm surrounded by wonderful people struggling to beat cancer. Living to make it to their child's graduation or wedding, the birth of their first grand baby, or through the holidays. I get to experience the joys of winning the battle, the clear PET scans, and the renewed hope. I also experience the sorrow and sadness when the news isn't so good, when hospice care begins, and when death certificates are received.

The weekend before I started N.E.O. (new employment orientation), my wonderful Aunt Janet was diagnosed with GBM (glioblastoma melanoma) an aggressive form of brain cancer. My Aunt Janet is one of the most wonderful, fun, loving, opinionated, and outgoing woman you could every meet. I got the pleasure of working with her in a doctors office for a year while I was in college. Everyone in the office still calls her Aunt Janet.... some things just stick. :) It was a great bonding time for us. She is my step-dad's, older brother's wife. My mom, sister, and I joined the family in 2002 when my mom and Mark were married.


Aunt Janet has helped me through so much. She's one of the people in my life that called me out on certain relationships and told me she loved me too much to watch me hurt and be treated poorly. One of the biggest moments of joy on my wedding day was Aunt Janet coming in and hugging and kissing my cheek. Her being there was a huge deal for both she and I. I loved knowing that not only were my siblings and parents there supporting me, everyone one especially Aunt Janet was on my side.


Now almost a year later, she's gone through a lot of ups and downs and that's putting it lightly. November of 2009 she underwent another surgery after which she was told to celebrate, the mass they removed showed no cancer cells (HOPE!). Then she had her follow up MRI, which showed a spreading in an inoperable area and she was referred to a Neuro-oncologist in Seattle (FEAR & SADNESS). He said that the spread might not be cancerous, since the previous pathology report was clean (HOPE!). It's continued on like this for the past few months. Good, then bad, bad then good. Every time I hear something negative regarding her progress, I have a hard time working. I have a hard time keeping a smile on my face and I begin to put walls around my heart. I have a hard time focusing.

Today is one of those days that I'm completely at a loss... During the last month she has been slowly deteriorating. This morning I learned that Aunt Janet is having unbearable headaches, back pain, and many other issues. She is going to see her specialist in Seattle today and I pray he can get her pain under control. I hate knowing that she's suffering like this.

Tomorrow is her 60th birthday and there is a big birthday party scheduled for her this Friday. Please pray she will be feeling well enough to attend her own birthday party. Any prayers you want to send our way would be much appreciated.

Finally photos of the pups

This is my Paco.

Snug in his new bed and yes, that's his blanket.

Junior, took over Paco's bed when he moved in.

I'll have to sneak a shot where he's curled up in it... he's pretty darling.

He is such a sweet boy.

He loves riding in the car, almost as much as he loves chasing his ball.

Failing?

I feel like I'm failing... I've only blogged twice since the new year. Apparently my life is either so dull and I don't want to share, or it's so busy I can't make time to blog. Either way I'm failing.

I've tried to upload those pictures I've promised of the pooches, but for some reason they aren't uploading from my computer. I'm working on it again tonight and will hopefully have some fun pictures of our new dog Junior. Can we still refer to him as new if we've had him four months?

Jon's back to Monday night bowling with the Yales. I go occasionally, but not as often as I did when it start earlier in the evening. Now I need sleep, and it goes too late for me.

I'm now a Sensaria consultant, just started this week. My kit should be coming today and I'm looking forward to becoming familiar with the product and trying it all out. It'll be nice bringing in a little extra income and having my own thing to do a couple nights a month. Jon's been totally supportive too, which is wonderful!

I'm going to try and post again tonight with pictures!