thanksgave

this year has managed to give me myriad reasons to be thankful. and it is rare that a day passes that i'm not thankful for something, or someone. it is a strange side effect of the cancer - despite having a disease that i hate and despise, it has given me the opportunity to meet so many good people and see the world in a different light. i am thankful for my doctors, my nurses, the girls who greet me when i arrive at 12 penn tower, the other patients and survivors i've met along the way, my family, my friends, and my dog. everyone has managed to keep smiling throughout the past ten months and at times laughing has been the order of the day. i have a big scan next monday. i guess you might think they are all big ones, but for me, the PET scans seem more ominous on the horizon. i haven't had one in more than four months, can you believe it? that is a long time to go. i had a CT scan halfway through, but they look at the body in different ways and that can make me nervous. i've been coughing more lately, and that also makes me nervous. but really, what i am trying hardest to do right now is ignore next monday. today was a beautiful day and i went for a run in the late afternoon just as the sun began to set. the golden light bathed everything and even though it was cold, i am pretty sure the sun was warming me up a bit. tonight rotten and i are trying out a new quinoa recipe. friday night i'll don some antlers and romp 5k through newark. this weekend we'll decorate the tree here at chez dols. life is really good. and that, i'm thankful for.

on thanksgiving day i took a walk around longwood gardens with mom and dad. it was also a beautiful day and we were there just as it opened, so we beat the crowds and felt like we had the estate to ourselves. it has been a while since i walked around the gardens and we enjoyed checking out the three treehouses that were built in the past year. my favorite spot of the day was the reflecting pool in the sunken floor of the main conservatory. they had filled it with cranberries and the fountains gently moved them around as the sun shone brightly in the room. it was spectacular, bright and red.


following a really tasty meal on thursday night, rotten and i woke up early friday and drove to newport, rhode island. rotten's best friend from college is from the beautiful little town and he was in from the west coast, visiting for the holiday. we crammed a lot into the weekend, from a visit from homero the bombero to seeing the new bond movie to learning what the only mammal that can't jump is (the elephant) to a walk at the beach to a couple of stops for coffee to a late night card game full of beers and wines. it was nice to be out of town for a few days and nice to be with friends we don't get to see often. i love new england. i felt relaxed and happy. even more reason to be thankful, really.