Fine Distractions

I took the dog in the stroller to the park today. We really are doing hospice care with this animal. She can’t see, she can’t hear, her arthritis is acting up. She’s cheerful enough and seemed to enjoy the ride. At least I can get some exercise while pushing the stroller. I probably walked a mile, not a lot by my normal standards but with chemo slowing me down, it was plenty. Once we got to the park I lifted her out and let her stagger around a bit. She sniffed here and there but was supremely uninterested in the other dogs running about. I loaded her up again and trundled her home.

I heard from my Aunt in Paris today and from my cousin in Austin. It was so delightful to get their email. It made me feel very warm and supported. I miss having family near, especially this time of year. I had such lovely parents. I miss them so. It’s great to have other family check in on me. I’m related to some very nice people.

I’m feeling well, but I tire easily; I suppose that is to be expected. I find that while I can read fiction, more complex and technical articles leave me feeling impatient and I can’t finish them. I had some case notes that I wanted to finish up and I finally just faxed the raw notes to Ginny (my co-worker who recently finished chemo) so that she could deal with them. She said that she’s starting to get her brains back and can deal with complex thought again. That was very reassuring. I lack the concentration at this point, not only because of the chemo, but because emotionally my mind is a little blown. She assures me that this is par for the course and a temporary phenomenon.

There are some fine distractions in my life. At our house we’ve instituted “Framily Frun” night. Our “framily” consists of the friends and family who live in our big, crazy house. Currently there are nine of us. We play games and last night Jasper came up with a new one called Left Foot. With all nine of us sitting in a circle, each writes a sentence at the top of a piece of paper then passes it to the left. The person on the left draws a picture to illustrate the sentence, then folds over the top part with the sentence and passes it left again to the next person who writes a sentence that explicates the drawing. Then that person folds over the drawing and passes it left again. With nine people, we had nine pages going and they all were quite hilarious. We laughed until tears came down our cheeks. It was a rousing success and we vowed to play it often.

Thanksgiving looms. We will have about ten guests and with our usual nine diners, that will be a huge table. David ordered a 26 pound turkey. I’m trying not to be in charge of anything this year but will play a supporting role, helping when I can, and taking frequent rests. David wants some help with the enormous turkey so I will act in an advisory capacity. We’ll rub it with kosher salt and bake it in the barbeque. I plan to set the table and chop vegetables for whoever wants the help. It should be fun. This is my second favorite holiday, the first favorite being Sukkot, on which Thanksgiving is based. It’s such a great excuse to get together with family and friends and eat and hang out and remember why we’re grateful. What could be better?