Gorgeously boring

This image speaks to me!

I was on that happy little ship in 2012, and the whale - well - you can imagine what that represents. I still search for my post-cancer sea legs sometimes, nearly 18 months following diagnosis.

"Wait on the Lord. Take heart, be strong. Wait on the Lord." Psalms 27:14

A lot has happened since I last wrote. A neurosurgeon said my spinal mass is probably benign (YAY!!); another MRI is scheduled in six months to confirm. A sweet friend started and finished cancer treatment. A classmate from high school suddenly died from a traumatic head injury. Less staggering - I finished my master gardening class. Bella "graduated" from her preschool - she starts kindergarten this fall. My sweet husband is nearing completion on the Bloom Room. Kate got glasses.

I love the "less staggering" parts of life now - I adore boring. Once chemo was done and I was de-boobed last fall, I thought: "OK, life. I'm ready to get back to you." But I marvel at how the gal who stumbled in to cancer at the beginning of last year is not the same one writing this now.

For example, when my husband and I were first married, it torked me to no end when he put sweaty, inside out socks and T-shirts in the laundry hamper.

I. HATED. IT.

As a "compromise," I would happily wash said clothing and fold them (still inside out). It was up to him to fix them when he put them on.

I don't do that any more. I make sure they're right when they get folded. Because, doggone, this man solidly stood beside me through a nasty, fingernail-falling-off time of my life. I'm thankful that God has blessed me with this man, and the very least that blessing deserves is some correctly folded laundry.

This is something else that's different about me: I have gotten in to shape. I'm sharing this screenshot of my phone, because I hit a milestone. When I began exercising last fall following the mastectomy, I told my hubby that my goal was a 12-minute mile. While I'm three seconds shy of that goal, this is still a big deal. I know it's not Flo-Jo speed, but for Slo-Mo me - wow. I'm so thankful God has granted me the energy to exercise.

Last month, Kate's first grade class had swimming lessons for a week. I debated being a parent helper in the water, but decided it was most wise to arrive after lessons each day to help get kids dressed and back to school. The kids are used to seeing me help out each week in the classroom, and they razzed me for not getting in the water.

"Maybe next year," I told them.

Although I can honestly say that I have not missed my boobs one whit (their absence is one of my favorite sources of comedy to my family and close friends), I did not want to be on the receiving end of 20 questions about why they were missing. After last year, I do my very best to avoid any unnecessary drama. That's something else new about me - I used to revel in life's unexpected dips and twirls with a "bring it ON" cheer. Now I am incredibly thankful for these times of calm.

Yep. I once said that benign is beautiful (and boy, is it ever), but boring looks pretty gorgeous, too.