Good Days

It's been two weeks since my last chemo (I got an extra day this round due to scheduling around the holiday), so it was nice to be able to enjoy the Labor Day weekend when I wasn't feeling lousy. My appetite is back and we enjoyed a nice dinner prepared by our favorite Filipino, tacos out, and a Bardenay night. Right now my biggest dietary issue is staying well hydrated as the chemo has damaged my taste buds which makes food taste bland and water taste gross. It's tough to drink a lot without consuming too much sugar, any artificial sweeteners, or caffeine in the evening. Lots of green tea.

The nausea is minimal and my fatigue is best described as feeling like I had a bad nights sleep, so not too bad. We couldn't motivate for the annual Labor Day camping in the Sawtooths, but had good family time nonetheless. Since Ryan and I are not sporting to the usual level there is less tag-team parenting and the kids enjoy the time with us all together. Going through this with young kids is not easy, but there are some things that are probably easier than if they were older. My kids have pretty low expectations and just love to be with us. I'm sure if they were older they would have been more disappointed that we didn't do anything ultra special for the long weekend. We took several rides around the neighborhood, went to the park, gardened, and even took a group ride on a kid friendly trail. Seeing the enthusiasm on both of my kids faces to ride bikes with us is brings so much joy! And fortunately a group ride around the neighborhood or a toddler friendly trail is easier on my joints than chasing them around the playground.

I also had some time to do get some suggestions from friends and do some research for audio books in preparation of the days ahead that I'm bound to my bed. It's been a long time since I've "read" for fun. I also got a chemotherapy meditation cd from the social worker, though I'm not sure I'll listen to it. I'm still struggling with the whole meditation and "mind, body, spirit" concepts that people have recommended....a topic of another post maybe.