New Wishes

I remember a time where we measured milestones in terms of our kids walking, moving out cribs, first bike, first day of school, staying alone for the first time, losing a tooth, first goal, grade eight graduation, first boyfriend, first girlfriend, driver's license. Now the word milestone takes on such a new meaning to me. Every milestone I am grateful that I get to be here. Living and celebrating. I celebrate milestones in terms of months now. 6 months of chemotherapy, one year of recovery, 6 months of remission, the first two years with fear of relapse, and five years to a cure. Last January, we hosted an evening to celebrate 6 months in remission.
Fast forward one year and I am looking at 18 months since I was found to be in remission.

Another marker to a cure. It's amazing to me how quickly life has returned back to normal. I am loving work and we had a busy Christmas season, hosting our family here on Boxing Day. I invited some close friends to join me for an evening at SocialArt KW to paint a picture titled "New Wishes". I felt that the name was appropriate to symbolize my hopes for the next year to come. The ladies who joined me have all played a huge role in my life and recovery. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to celebrate with me. Your friendship
means the world to me. Two years ago this weekend, I was facing the scariest test I would face. The waiting between appointments knowing that I had growing lumps in my neck of an unknown origin, was one of the most difficult things I have ever faced. Jason, knowing that I needed to fill the empty space of the weekend, so that I wouldn't be researching the internet to find every worse case scenario suggested that we go for a drive to find the elusive snowy owl. After a short drive outside the city, we were rewarded with two snowy owls in a snow-covered field. This past weekend on Family Day, Jason and I again ventured out and again were treated to a sighting of a snowy owl perched high on a post. My friends have said that they feel that us finding the snowy owls two years ago was a sign that everything was going to be ok. I fully believe that again, our snowy owl is assuring us that I will continue to enjoy remission and will look forward to the next milestone. Two years in remission in July. A symbol and a great milestone to reach. Love you all.