Life’s Little Delights

HEALTH UPDATE: Holding steady! I’m in between treatments which are every third week. My next CT scan is June 1st. My next treatment is June 3rd. At this point, no news is good news. I’ve got some aches in my legs, sweats, and a dull pain in my side. Of course I assume the worst with that one. It comes and goes. I noticed the pain after I was playing with Willow and chalk drawing on the driveway. Pulled muscle, I’m sure…or cancer has spread everywhere. You know, typical worries. LOL. #cancerlife

Ramblings…

How is everyone doing? I often wonder how everyone is coping with the world circumstances these days. Our household is on a pretty strict lock down. We do grocery curb side pick up, wash our groceries, let our mail air out in the garage and wear masks around others, except when outside in our driveway. Tom does all the pick ups, gets the gas in the cars and the hands on stuff. The only places I’ve been to is the hospital and another clinic. Last week we ventured out to the eye doctor! Willow told me she needed to go. She said things far away were blurry. She is getting glasses next week and I can’t wait to see her face when she is able to see the beautiful world outside in detail.

We go to great lengths to stay healthy and away from the virus. Are we over doing it? Let’s be frank. Nobody knows how long we will live on earth. I have a bigger hint than most. Am I wasting my chance to make great memories on a fun trip? Are we prisoners to COVID-19? The climate of severity is changing. It was all out defcon 5 when it first was becoming known of what this virus was capable of. Then there was New York. Devastation beyond measure in New York and across the world. Now, in a few days, the shutters are opening. Slowly, the people will come out. Businesses will pray to rebuild what once was. I pray for them. That’s all I can do. I can’t go out quite yet. I just don’t feel that I can take that chance.

Everyone has their own comfort level. Mine is strict. I don’t often take chances on matters such as this. Perhaps it is because of the battle I’ve been fighting since December. All that work and money on drugs only to catch a virus and die? No way, man. Or perhaps it is the incredible parallel of living with food allergies. My sweet girl is allergic to nuts among other things but the nuts are the potentially life threatening allergy. People who know me know that I’m pretty crazy about protecting my girl. We go to extremes. We only go to three restaurants that we’ve vetted to be as safe as possible, although when you put cooking in someone else’s hands, any restaurant is a risk. Any food is a risk! It’s Russian roulette with food 24/7! I’ve been washing bananas in the peel for years. What if someone sets them in the open nut box at the grocery store? Reading labels is easy but it’s the calling product companies to see if they produce their products in a nut free facility that is time consuming. We have our safe list of brands we purchase that are deemed safe but then again, are they? Manufacturing locations and practices can change. Our safe spaghetti sauce (RAO’s) added cashew pesto to their lineup! My facebook nut group went wild with worry. Whew, the marinara is still in a nut free facility but we have to make sure “RAO” is in the printed best buy portion of the packaging. We make it work. There is nothing I cannot duplicate with safe ingredients so that Willow will feel included, whether it is a family holiday or school food project. Bottom line, if there is a risk to my daughter and it’s a risk I can avoid, I’m going to do everything I can to avoid it!

Food allergies and the virus are both potentially life threatening, although the “odds” are low. What does low mean? To me, a chance is a chance. This is why I’m so hesitant to leave our home and venture out. Lately though, I find myself wondering…is this how life is meant to be lived? Held hostage by a virus that has yet to be fully understood? I’m bored with the conflicting information. It can be spread on surfaces, no it can’t be spread on surfaces. Once you have it, you are immune to it. No…not sure about that. Reports of the details coming from every which way and hard to comprehend and trust. How do we make any educated decisions? For now, we will ride this out but my wheels are turning. I”m thinking of somewhere in the middle. Take a trip in our car. No large crowds. We really need to make our own food anyways so restaurants aren’t an issue. Maybe a cabin in the woods? Fishing, rent a boat, camp fire. Heck…maybe a tent in the back yard. I want my family to be safe. I want to live to tell about it. Is that too much to ask? I shiver at the answer.

Besides all the deep thoughts I’ve already mentioned, my mind is occupied with all of life’s little delights. Rising early in the morning and enjoying the sunrise, my beloved coffee, the company of my family, connecting with family and friends via text, zoom or face time and enough energy to live a productive life! I am still enjoying laundry. Yesterday I cleaned the house and even shook out the rugs. A real cleaning. It’s been a long while since I’ve been able to do that. Sounds funny but I liked it. We are grilling out a lot at our driveway parties. Even though it’s just a party of 3, it feels like many more with all of our neighbors walking by with their dogs and of course Lisa and Walter next door. We dance to the speaker on the lot line. Willow will challenge the kids that walk by to a race. The kid stays on the sidewalk and Willow runs (at least 6 feet from the sidewalk, lol) into the yard across two neighbors lots. She also races with Callie, her bff neighbor dog. Although Callie and Willow also practice safe distancing, their love for one another can’t be denied. It’s so sweet!

Besides the touch of my friends and loved ones, I have everything I need right here at home. Memories are being made. Right here at home. I think I just answered my own questions.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. I’m forever grateful!! Be safe everyone!

Love and best wishes,

Cathy