My Favorite Things

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2014

My Favorite Things

All week I've been thinking about how hard it is to describe FAVORITES ... weird thought I know.

Favorites for me have sometimes come and gone in a flash.  Depending on my age, the people in my life at the time, and the circumstances for which they become my favorites.

When I was a little girl, I watched The Wizard of Oz every year when it came on TV.  I thought Judy Garland was beautiful even in black and white. I will never forget seeing the movie for the first time in color--it was so vibrant and alive--I loved it--I despised the monkeys, they scared me.  My favorite part of the movie was when she sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Somewhere over the rainbow way up high

There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue

and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true

One day I'll wish upon a star

and wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where your troubles melt like lemon drops

way above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me

Oh, somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly

If birds can fly over the rainbow, why, then oh why can't I?

One day I'll wish upon a star

and wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Way above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me

Oh, somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly

If birds can fly over the rainbow, why, then oh why can't I?

If Happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow

Why, oh why can't I?

The first time I heard this song, I loved the melody, but the first time I listened to the lyrics I became obsessed.  It was difficult to imagine daring to dream of a happy place, or that dreams can come true. Since those days, I have always been in awe of Rainbows. When Haleigh and I saw a double rainbow in Hawaii just a couple of weeks before I was diagnosed with cancer, it later became a 

Last day of Chemo

 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2010

Last Day of Chemo

Today was my last chemo treatment....the significance of this milestone is overwhelming to me. I am not feeling well today, but I know I need to get my feelings down on my blog as it usually goes through the week of chemo. I get sicker as the days go on, and it makes it difficult for me to concentrate (primarily because of the drugs)
My day started with Tamy picking me up at 9 am, and we checked in at 9:40. We sat in the waiting area, visiting each other and having a spiritual talk that I will not soon forget. I love Tamy. I explained how much I've felt unprepared spiritually for this trial.
I am really far from being done with this journey. As I look back on the past 6-7 months, it is such a blur, and in some ways, it has burst my eyes and heart wide open. I have so much to be grateful for, and I am looking forward to 6 months from now when I can say "I am cancer-free."

I did not want to go to chemo. It is grueling and makes me sick, but I knew it would be my last, and I was ready to conquer it today. It was a rainy day, and after hours of the chemo being pumped into me, the nurse came to say I was done. The chemo was done draining. Tamy looked out the window and said, "look at the beautiful rainbow."
Tears filled my eyes because I knew it was the Lord giving me a sign. It was like the rainbow I saw with Haleigh in Hawaii, just 2 weeks before I found out I had the VILLAIN in me, except for one thing we could not see the end of the rainbow this time. The VILLAIN is still lingering over our house, but I am still here, trying to survive. I believe the end is in sight, but I have more work.
The nurses came in and celebrated with me. I cried as I hugged each one of them and Tamy. Now I have the month of March off, only 2 doctor appointments, and they will do the mapping to get me ready for radiation in April. I am so looking forward to being with my family, we are going away from here for spring break, and I am going to enjoy every minute of it.

Refuge In Rainbows

 

My daughter Haleigh and I went to Hawaii for a week about a month ago. We were driving back from a day at the North Shore, and when we came over this hill, there was the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen; I mean, it was breathtaking. I had never seen a whole Rainbow before. I could not get over the stunning colors; it looked like we were so close to it that we could just drive up to it. The Rainbow's beginning was a little hazy and seemed to linger over the homes of the people living on the hill; as the Rainbow continued over to the end, the colors were vivid, and the ending was precise and clear. I told Haleigh when you can see the whole Rainbow and the lot is in sight, that it is good luck; I told her to take it in and enjoy every minute of it because they do not come along very often, in all my 46 years, this was the 1st one I had ever seen like it. She laughed at me and even called her dad to tell him how excited I was to see this Rainbow, and I was a little weird. I admit I just could not get over the beauty of it.
I find myself thinking about that Rainbow a lot as I face this new trial of mine called "cancer" It hit me last night as I was trying to sleep; the Lord gave me that Rainbow on that day, knowing it would provide me with comfort. I believe, like all trials that everyone faces, the beginning is a little hazy and lingers over and around my home like a nasty habit. Still, it is the end that I am interested in; it will be precise and clear because, at the end of this trial, I will then know what the Lord wanted me to learn from all of this. I am grateful for that moment I shared with my daughter; now, maybe she will understand the significance of that beautiful moment I will never forget as long as I live.