Whew...it was a loaded two weeks. My break started off with a few days spent getting some work done on my research. In three weeks, I was able to analyze over 800 pictures from which I will be calculating velocity of wound closer. It was starting to feel like I would never get through all of those. I am now almost done with image analysis (one more experiment that I have to count cells = 288 images) and finishing doesn't feel so impossible anymore.
I went home with only one thing on my list: family time. It had been over a year since I had seen the majority of my family and spending time with my mom is always my main priority. I didn't quite get everyone checked off the list (the curse of having a big family) but I saw a majority. There were some pretty big things that happened to a few members of my family. My aunt and uncle officially adopted the little girl they have been fostering for almost two years. And a huge surprise to all of us, my aunt who has been trying to adopt a child for almost a decade was notified that birth parents in Texas had picked her and her husband to adopt their brand new baby boy and my aunt had to be in Texas within 48 hours to go through the process. Pretty crazy. I now have 19 first cousins on my dad's side. That's a lot right?
My mom was able to take a few days off from work while I was home which allowed me to spend a bunch of time with her. It never feels like enough but we tried to make the most of every minute. This year there wasn't the somber cloud of chemo hanging over us. That was definitely enjoyable. She still has pain in her upper abdomen which she tries to mask but it is pretty telling when you catch her wincing and holding her stomach.
Friends kind of took a backseat this break. I was able to see most of my closest friends and their kiddos and went to the annual get together of the group of Bio/Anths that I graduated with from Western. It is always fascinating to see what amazing things the group is up to. I must say that our small group is made up of some super smart people that are up to incredible things. Two of us are in medical school, one starts medical school this summer, another graduated with her master's in epidemiology from Emory and working at a big girl job, a fifth is working in the ER at Harborview Medical Center (level 1 trauma center in Seattle), and the last is teaching AP courses at a high school, working as a baker, about to start her master's in teaching, and has an art show opening next month.
Overall, it was a pretty good break. But there is always a negative. Unfortunately this negative is looking like it is going to exist for a while. On the outside, the appearance is that either everything is fine or that there is unwarranted objection but there are things going on out of the limelight that have brought on the opposition. I don't know the person that has evolved which makes me sad cause I used to be pretty close to the old version. I miss that version.
To wrap this all up, my break served as another reminder of all the blessings I have been granted. I am surrounded with so much love and support which I am so thankful for. I also received an amazing Christmas gift from my aunt Sara that helped make my Christmas wish come true by donating to the GiveLocally organization which helped a single mom and her daughter get groceries and lights as well as a family with two special needs children who were out of jobs. Thank you to all who made it happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment