Everyday Pleasures

Last night on my way home from my mom's birthday party a huge, white cat darted out and ran in front of my car. I will take this as a good luck sign for this morning's chemo infusion. Black cats are bad luck so that must mean white ones are good luck ... I'll take what I can get because I really am not looking forward to going. 

I've been focused on little things like this that make every, individual day that much more special despite, or maybe because of, having cancer. 

• 3:45 p.m. This is when Craig gets home from work and my heart flutters ;)
• Sammy, Sam, Samantha, Sam-a-lama-ding-dong (her racing name), Samilicious, Sambuca, Sam Dog Millionaire ... whatever I'm calling her at the moment. My always faithful companion
• My daily walk: I shoot for at least 30 minutes of body moving every day. Sometimes I get over a mile in a half-hour, sometimes it's just around the block, but either way it feels so good to get the blood pumping.
• Social media: e-mail, Facebook and online young adult cancer communities have been such fantastic digital supports and have reconnected me with some very special people in my life 
• Stretching
• Working: I love my job and getting to continue to report, interview fascinating people, write, work on website and in social media, makes me feel like I'm still a contributing member of society and gain a sense of accomplishment at the end of each day 
• Sunshine: if it's a beautiful day, I set up my home office out on the porch and get to work in the warmth of the sun
• Wildlife: working from home I've discovered the wooded wonderland that is our yard. Birds are singing all day long, I see rabbits, even sometimes deer, we have a snake that suns on the front step just about every day and I've been able to watch baby birds hatch from eggs in a nest tucked under our front porch overhang 
• My Minnetonka moccasins: they make my feet smile. I wear them every day no matter the weather 
• Blankets, mmmmmm, blankets
• Food, glorious food: any kind of food, really. When I'm feeling crappy and sometimes have to force it down, food always makes me feel better
• Hot showers, complete with a good massage of my bald, tender scalp and a detox mineral scrub to slough off all the bad, cancer cells 
• Our koi fish pond: watching flotsam, jetsom and nod swim is cathartic and very Zen 
• Naps, lots of naps, they do wonders 
• Fruits and veggies: I'm lucky to be going through this during summertime when the availability of fresh, affordable produce is abundant
• The mailman: he always brings fun surprises and cards that make me smile 
• Friends and family: my cancer angels