Bouncing Back from a Kind of Hell
I officially announce that I'm back. Back from what? I'm not sure. Maybe from a bad soap opera. Here's the run-down of the past month. It began with the death of Ron's 109 year old aunt. Not a surprise, by any means, but the beginning of a lot of stress. A few days later, my favorite uncle collapsed and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. At 82, that's not a positive thing. The day after that diagnosis, my mother died, and her death necessitated a lot of ... how to say? ... unwanted family interaction.
Two days later, I got the scare of my life. Okay, at least a serious scare. I resumed body-building recently, and while running through the mandatory contest poses, Ron pointed out a lump under my right arm. I literally froze. I called my doctor, but for two days before I could get in to see him, I relived every moment of the non-hodgkins lymphoma I experienced ten years ago. And when I showed the lump to Diana, she turned pale and collapsed back on the couch. My doctor immediately sent me for tests, sonograms and such, and two more days passed. I can't describe the relief when the results came back clear. What the lump was, nobody's quite sure. It was not a lymph gland, and it's gone down mostly. Yet, I was startled and a bit dismayed to discover how much that fear still lingers with me.
And those are just the highlights. Like I said, a bad soap opera.
But this past week has been really good. I got back to work on my current novel, and I enjoyed a very pleasant birthday (I discovered the pleasure of honey-infused bourbon). Diana and I had a great Valentine's Day celebration. Then Ron and I helped two friends celebrate their 20th anniversary, along with friends in from California, by taking in a play called, "Say You Love Satan," at the Off-Center Theater. It has a screamingly funny first act, although sadly it falls down in the second. Still, a very worthwhile evening.
I also resumed spending time on my photography, learning more about the potentials of photoshop and stuff. I took five photos to Contraception and sold three of them in the artshow. I donated another to the charity auction and was delighted at the winning bid. I'm considering now if I want to put some work together for ConQuest.
There's still too much snow around here, and I could desperately use some sunshine. Right now, though, life is pretty good. Oh, and I've just launched an account on Skype. Perhaps I'll talk to some of you face-to-face soon. Don't bother dressing.
Best,
Robin