What Breast Cancer CAN'T Do - From cancer patient to Ironman.

Happiness is not in what you see, Bur in what you perceive. I can see what others with sight Cannot. I can hear what those with hearing Cannot. I can feel with more depth and Understanding than people With all of their senses. My pleasure is derived from Just being alive. People pitied me. They thought that I was afraid, Unteachable, unreachable. I could not tell them that I Did not need or want their pity. All I needed was understanding And patience. I was not afraid. I have the courage to want to Learn and grow. I accepted the challenge of my situation with grace and dignity. Those who pitied me where more Pitiful than I. I was content in my peaceful world. I had no use for confusion or Noise. My life was not simple. I had to work hard and constantly To maintain it. This made my life all the more Precious to me. I took nothing for granted. There was no bitterness or anger Or self-pity. There was no time. My life...

Well, THIS weekend was certainly blog worthy! Where to start?  I've already covered the high drama with Sue getting here on the train.  ~sigh~ We had a great drive, several laughs and a little adventure on the trip to Geneva, as I wanted to take the "scenic route" from Binghampton to Geneva, through Ithaca, along Cayuga and over to Seneca.  North east PA and the southern tier of NY state are just incredibly beautiful. After my little reservation snafu, we got to the William Smith Inn which turned out to be one of those oh-so-happy accidents!  Wow!  The B&B is beautiful, Theresa, the owner is just lovely; she was there to greet us, gave us a tour and some of the history.  Very interesting.  Friday was all about getting settled, packet pick-up, the usual pre-race stuff.  And then we met Jules!!  Highlight of the weekend and my new bud!  Jules and her hubby Derek are from Quebec and they come each year to do this race.  Such ...

Been a long time since I have written in this blog........... One of the greatest challenges of being a survivor is that nagging feeling we carry with us waiting for another shoe to drop.  Especially with my family history.  We've learned never to say, "What's next?" lest we find out!  We grow to accept this feeling over time and really don't spend our days agonizing over what could happen, but then some small, seemingly harmless bump or mark or ache raises a red flag. I went to have my teeth cleaned at lunch today.  No big deal, right?  Unless, of course you are over 50 and your gums are receding and heaven knows what all, still........it's a teeth cleaning.  Then the dentist comes in to check and with a very concerned face points out a "freckle" on the inside of your bottom lip.  Now, I don't know about you, but I don't typically sit in the sun with my mouth open, nor do I bike or run this way as, well I've eaten enough bugs, thank ...