Thursday, September 2, 2010

" We are family! i got all my sisters with me....and we fly just like birds of a feather...high hopes we have for the future and our goal's in sight. no, we don't get depressed, here's what we call our golden rule: have faith in you and the things that you do, and you won't go wrong." ( Sister Sledge)

a serious illness causes you to think about your life in many ways. i was thinking about my family- a lot of my family has passed away- my mom, all my grandmothers, granddads, uncles, aunts, some cousins for good measure. anyway, i was getting a little depressed thinking about it and then i realized something. through shared experiences with thyroid cancer- both good and bad- i feel that i have developed a sort of "kinship" with everyone who has read my blog. whether you have commented on my blog, or emailed me with your particular experiences, or just offered me support, i feel that we are all part of a special group.( o.k. maybe we did not exactly plan on being in the cancer group.) but we have a common denominator of understanding, and i think, friendship.

no matter what stage we are in, in our journey, we can identify with what each of us is dealing with. no one else- not family, friends, or co-workers, really" gets it "like another thyroid cancer patient.when i get depressed, i think about all of the new friends i have met through my blog. i am sorry( REALLY SORRY) that we all have cancer, but i would not have met you guys otherwise. that is something good that came from my cancer, and i feel that it is a blessing i would not otherwise have had.

an employee where i work asked me how i was doing. i said, oh, fine. and he said, no, how are you really doing? his wife has cancer, and he has talked with me a time or two. i stopped for a moment, and considered the question. sometimes i feel like i have   multiple personality dysfunction or something.  my Pollyanna self- the dominant self, says everything is fine and dandy. then my private self, "Debbie downer," if you will, gets sad. i have said that we thyroid cancer patients live from scan to scan and i almost want to just jump ahead  in time to the next scan. of course, there is a whole lot of living to do before my next scan. i have to remind myself to enjoy my life and not wish my time away. i do need to "believe in myself and the things that i do".

my children are all coming home this labor day weekend.  we will celebrate a belated birthday for me. i really like the national cancer society's slogan " celebrate more birthdays". it really does mean something more to me now. someone told me, oh you had a birthday, i won't ask how old you are! i said i was very,very happy to be a year older. here's to all of my new friends: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US ALL!!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Bea. A belated happy birthday! I have one this month too. Will be 53. I know that's getting older, but I am grateful I get to "get older" Cancer has changed my outlook on a lot of things. I do get sad at times. I sometimes feel like there is this giant shoe hovering over my head, waiting to squash me. But that feeling passes and hubby and I make plans for the future. Things we want to do. We are taking the time to do these things now instead of just saying we want to do them. It gets scary at times, but also I feel some good has come out of my getting thyroid cancer.

    Anyway have a great holiday weekend!

    ReplyDelete