Relay for Life and life.....

The Relay for Life evening was absolutely wonderful. Our “Tutu Bad for Cancer” team drew lots of attention, we looked BAD!!! One member of the group talked his way into bringing his little ‘canned ham’ trailer on site for us to use on our campsite. As it was the only trailer on site, it was easy to spot our meeting place!

I had a wonderful time walking around the track with my friends. It was a beautiful evening. We had a large group, adults and children, walk for the team lap and I felt so happy, so blessed, so lucky to be a friend to these wonderful people.

Stacey stayed out all night long with Molly and Anna Grace, Madeline and Lily walked for four hours in the dark of the night and there were tutus on the track all evening and into the early morning hours.

Thanks again to all of you who participated by walking or by donating. It was a success by my standards and although it was exhausting (for me at least), it was one of the best evenings I have had in a long, long time.

Early Saturday morning, Richie and I arrived at about 5am to pick up Madeline and Lily. Stacey sipped her latte, Molly and Anna Grace were still smiling. We returned to the house and loaded up the car for our trip to St. Louis for the Collins family reunion. We met in the northern Ozarks at my uncle’s summer place. It was a beautiful day with my mom, brothers, sisters, uncles and cousins. We spent the night in St. Louis and I woke up feeling more rested than I have in a long, long time.

Tuesday evening we made it to the first volleyball night at Jane and Steve’s. More good friends and a chance to meet the two new members of the volleyball crew. Whew! I continued to feel good – until yesterday! I am back on antibiotics for another UTI. I had a pep talk this morning with Mom, where I cried, she comforted me, we both cried and then we both got off the phone before it got out of control. I do feel better today, but zapped. The combo of chemo fatigue and infection fatigue are holding me down. There’s always tomorrow, right?

This past weekend was a big step for me. I haven’t had the energy to be out much. I am glad my friends and family see that I am doing okay. Physically I am getting stronger and emotionally I am holding my own. I am a little too skinny, but working on gaining weight. But most importantly I feel stronger and I feel better. I am working on building my stamina. I just add a few more minutes of chores or movement everyday. This can only make me stronger and more confident in my ability to keep moving forward.

Thanks to everyone for Relay for Life, for support, for your energy, for being my friend. I am a lucky woman and things will only get better.

Love and hugs,
Maggie