June 14th, and Thirty Five Years

Where to start. Thirty five years ago, I was in Golden Colorado along with April and the husband. The travel trailer was parked beneath the cliffs and the free jumpers were sailing off that cliff and spiraling their way to the ground. The year was 1978 which seems so far away now. I can still remember the warm weather, the water in the stream beneath those cliffs and the lazy days of reading novels for entertainment. There was no cell phones nor Internet. Time was spent outdoors as long as the weather permitted. We are in the Rockies and the summers are short and not to be wasted cooped up in an enclosure with walls and ceilings. That will arrive soon enough with snow hip deep, biting winds and below zero temperatures.

And mostly that's how it began. Today is our 35th anniversary.  The next twenty years would find us all over the USA. Eventually we arrived here in Lafayette, Louisiana, a home, grandchildren and settled. I still like the road but I like it even more that I have a home base now.

 I  got a new Garmin 50 Nuvi. How appropriate for someone that likes to be on the road. You might have thought a nice diamond ring or bracelet would have been warranted. I have those. I wanted a GPS. A new one. My old one is dated and can NOT be updated. This new one has lifetime updates via computer. I'm happy and satisfied.

The only other acceptable and desired gift would have been a trip abroad. We will do that but it will be delayed until I am finished with treatment and strong again.

Speaking of treatments, my next door neighbor appeared at my door last evening. She came with her husband to tell me of being newly diagnosed with breast cancer. This woman came to console me when she found out about my diagnosis.

Thankfully, hers is in the ducts only and she will have a lumpectomy and radiation. It still jars one when the label of "cancer" has been applied to you. Amid moments of  tearfulness, she told of her appointments, biopsy and scheduled surgery.

In moments of jocularity, she comments, "I guess we now have something more in common!"

As they left she looked over her shoulder, smiled and said "Geeze, couldn't you have had something like the flu."

She is a very positive person; a lover of a good bottle of wine and a story teller. Things are always poppin when she is around and laughter is plentiful. She will have her moments when the laughter dries up but I don't think it will be for long. She will bounce back and move on. We just don't have a choice with this.

I've enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee, sweetened with liquid Hazelnut creamer. I have almost given up coffee. When the husband is out of town, I neglect to even brew a pot electing to go through the drive through at McDonald's and get a "senior cup" of coffee. Forty cents lighter, I'm sipping my favorite coffee and I don't have to pour away most of what's left in a home brewed pot.

I've consumed my boiled egg and a slice of toast, two cups of coffee and now it's time for medicines. I'll be dressing soon to make a trip to the mall. I want to get the husband the foot massager they have at Brookstone. Happy Anniversary Baby! It's been a most interesting ride!