Day 773 – The “slacker” is back

There is a common philosophy that we should be present in the moment and live each day as it is our last and that is why I have a count of the days since my stem cell transplant. March 14 2018 was the date I got a “new birthday”. ( AND I get to share the date with a BFF Kym, so that’s cool )

With the new norm we are living in, I had to do a annual review of my medical status with my Mayo Clinic Dr. Dingli over the phone. I did a couple lab tests here and we transferred info to him. That was fantastic because I did not have to drive across Nebraska in March! Which no one in their right mind would choose to do….

I am Super excited to say my body is just as healthy as my mind. Now I say that because I focus on mind power and positive energy and all the wonderful, natural things I can do to keep my body going. Some skeptics might not truly believe in the power of the mind, but in my little world, it is powerful and proven to improve my daily quality of life.

Shout out to my sister, Connee, for her consistent and confident approach to her new “norm”. We are amazing sources of power for each other, XO.

So this covid-10 dilemma has allowed the planet – everyone in the world- to take a breath and slow down. Whether we like it or not, I see incredibly beautiful things everyday. Families actually have time to get to know each other! Friends are finding that daily connections mean more than they did 2 months ago. It won’t be long before a lot of us go back to our busy daily routines but I hope I hang on to this feeling of compassion, gratitude, and observation. Take a deep breath and look at a tree or a bird. Really listen to the sounds of the birds. Or look for a bunny and watch it dart back and forth in the backyard. How incredibly lucky we are to have nature outside our front door with so many lessons to teach us.

Ok, I will let you in on my secret, for the “off the wall” thoughts above. I took my 2 dogs to a dog park for the 6:30 sunrise exercise. Since this stay at home deal started, I met a man and his dog Levon there. Yes, we practice social distancing… but he has been going there for years and shares his history with me about 2 magpie bird couples that have nests there. Today a crow was antagonizing one of the them, which we assume is the mom and she was having no part of it, and protecting her eggs.

Seriously, I wonder if 2 months ago I would have been open to “just be” in that moment for 10 minutes? That is probably a no, since I was driving all over Co and putting in 12 hour days, what a NUT, I am.

What a fab way to start a Saturday morning!!

And Yes, cancer can take a back seat to my daily thoughts now that my 3 doctors all agree; I am an A+ student of multiple myeloma.