i feel it in my eyes that i've come undone. -- rachel zoe.
so my mom went through her first round of testing at md anderson today. we didnt really get any new information. she has a slow growing type of lymphoma and the rest of the testing on thursday will hopefully tell us if it is only in her small intestine or if it started/spread to other parts of her body. it is likely that she has had this in her for years. i guess that was the scariest part - that there was no way of finding out sooner. she just kind of stumbled upon it because she works in a lab and frequently runs her own blood work.
so i'll be down in the valley for nine days. my mom's follow up appointment with her oncologist (?) is next tuesday, but my brother's big football game is that night so i will definitely be staying with him. he is staying with our grandparents all weekend so i'll probably stay with him through the week so that he can sleep in his own bed. then, we'll probably go to houston the following weekend to check up on mom.
so far, she has 4 options - 2 of which are pretty irrelevant. she could do nothing (and thats not going to happen) or she could need a bone marrow transplant. but the doctor didnt seem to think that was going to be necessary. so the 2 actual options are chemotherapy or some kind of medication that is equivalent to chemo. she's decided to be treated in houston because she's already had a really great experience and appreciates how attentive the nurses and doctors have been, and how clearly all of the procedures and policies are followed.
in some ways, i am excited to go back to houston. i never really felt like it was "my city" but there are little things about houston that i havent found in austin yet. like kubo's, the sushi restaurant on the second floor of the village arcade, where i could pick up a meal on my way home or eat on my own in the sunshine. and right below kubo's is black walnut cafe - with awesome gelato and a huge greek salad. i could also pop by chloe dao's store and check out some new shoes. or i could just walk around rice, maybe down to the museum district.
i always romanticize cities - and though i can list my absolute favorite parts of houston, i rarely enjoyed them while i was there. and i see myself doing that in austin. i do have the equivalent of each of my favorite places in houston here in austin - i just dont make the time to experience them, just like i did when i was in houston. i love walking around the lake. i loved the sushi i had a maiko with christi a few weeks ago. the alamo drafthouse could be my new angelika. south congress is my new westheimer.
hopefully one good thing will come out of this experience with my mom - i will rearrange my priorities. i am trying to sort out my feelings about my job. instead of being content, i am losing my patience. with all the stupid questions and ridiculous requests i receive each day, i am now constantly thinking "my mom has cancer! i dont have time for this!" i am so eager to spend a whole nine days outside of the office! i know i will be working from home/houston most days, but to just be able to deal with things at my own pace could be amazing. we'll see how that works out.
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the evenings have been really phenomenal here. there has been this cool breeze throughout the whole day, but in the evening its just perfect. i've left my windows open and my bedroom smells so fresh. i wish i had some flowers on the window sill. last night, i woke up to rain on my window. i quickly pulled up the blinds and closed the window. but i kept the blinds drawn all the way up and watched the rain on the window, with the city lights in the background. i love those moments.
so i'll be down in the valley for nine days. my mom's follow up appointment with her oncologist (?) is next tuesday, but my brother's big football game is that night so i will definitely be staying with him. he is staying with our grandparents all weekend so i'll probably stay with him through the week so that he can sleep in his own bed. then, we'll probably go to houston the following weekend to check up on mom.
so far, she has 4 options - 2 of which are pretty irrelevant. she could do nothing (and thats not going to happen) or she could need a bone marrow transplant. but the doctor didnt seem to think that was going to be necessary. so the 2 actual options are chemotherapy or some kind of medication that is equivalent to chemo. she's decided to be treated in houston because she's already had a really great experience and appreciates how attentive the nurses and doctors have been, and how clearly all of the procedures and policies are followed.
in some ways, i am excited to go back to houston. i never really felt like it was "my city" but there are little things about houston that i havent found in austin yet. like kubo's, the sushi restaurant on the second floor of the village arcade, where i could pick up a meal on my way home or eat on my own in the sunshine. and right below kubo's is black walnut cafe - with awesome gelato and a huge greek salad. i could also pop by chloe dao's store and check out some new shoes. or i could just walk around rice, maybe down to the museum district.
i always romanticize cities - and though i can list my absolute favorite parts of houston, i rarely enjoyed them while i was there. and i see myself doing that in austin. i do have the equivalent of each of my favorite places in houston here in austin - i just dont make the time to experience them, just like i did when i was in houston. i love walking around the lake. i loved the sushi i had a maiko with christi a few weeks ago. the alamo drafthouse could be my new angelika. south congress is my new westheimer.
hopefully one good thing will come out of this experience with my mom - i will rearrange my priorities. i am trying to sort out my feelings about my job. instead of being content, i am losing my patience. with all the stupid questions and ridiculous requests i receive each day, i am now constantly thinking "my mom has cancer! i dont have time for this!" i am so eager to spend a whole nine days outside of the office! i know i will be working from home/houston most days, but to just be able to deal with things at my own pace could be amazing. we'll see how that works out.
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the evenings have been really phenomenal here. there has been this cool breeze throughout the whole day, but in the evening its just perfect. i've left my windows open and my bedroom smells so fresh. i wish i had some flowers on the window sill. last night, i woke up to rain on my window. i quickly pulled up the blinds and closed the window. but i kept the blinds drawn all the way up and watched the rain on the window, with the city lights in the background. i love those moments.