Since you heard from me last I have had two treatments, so I am now halfway to the end if it all goes as planned. Mom came down for my chemo a month ago, which helped tremendously. We did the Carlos O’Kelly’s lunch outing, gabbed about work and whatnot throughout the afternoon, then she went with me to visit the Friday Drinks crowd and was welcomed with open arms since they are such good people. For my last treatment, Keith really wanted to be there for me, but it is grading time, so he sent flowers in his absence. Howard, my pal in chemo room 3 that day, said he would give his wife grief for not sending him flowers. All the gals that work there will probably embarrass the hell out of Keith when he goes with me on Friday since they were so impressed by him sending flowers even though a birthday or anniversary was not involved. Come on guys out there, if you know your chick would dig it, just do it. It truly brightened my day.
Healthwise, things are mostly the same. My doctor did ask for a lung function test a couple of weeks ago to see if the Bleomyacin was having an adverse side affect, and apparently it did, so she has nixed that chemo drug from my regimen. She is sending me to a pulmonologist, but I have yet to get a call that it was scheduled, so I’ll let you know when I know what he/she says. I don’t have any wheezing or shortness of breath, so the doctor isn’t too worried. I have always felt in general that my lungs are not big enough for my body—like I can’t quite get a full breath. It just occurred to me that perhaps my body is too big for my lungs. Like I needed another reason to lose weight. I am rather pleased that through all of this I have stayed within 5 pounds or so, which is good since some people I know have gained lots of weight. Keith and I invested in a used, mid-range ellipitical machine to keep our cardio going, so maybe that will keep me trim as I indulge this holiday season.
At work I have been out of the building many days this month. Aside from my two treatments and a particularly nauseas Monday last time, I went to a state library conference for two days, a workshop for a day, and a seminar for a day. The conference totally centered and reenergized me, plus it was great to network, pal around, and share ideas with my mentor Mia and my master’s classes buddy Mel. Lately I have had so many people asking how I like my new job, and it can be hard to know how to answer. It is a big transition from a large district to a small one, urban to rural, classroom to library/technology/TAG, and of course from high school to elementary. I am rather homesick for my relationships with high schoolers that simply don’t form with the little guys. You get to know who some of them are, and their behaviors and forming personalities, but you don’t really get to know them. Or maybe it is just me.
As a classroom teacher I used to dread the days when I had to teach MLA style for research because it is so dry, but now I yearn to make research meaningful and applicable with the knowledge I have gained through my masters program. That is what a high school librarian should be collaborating with teachers on, and I think I want to be the one to do it. I’m not saying I dislike the job I have, or that I don’t want to go every day (I’ve been there before, so I know the difference), I’m just in constant reflection of what I like and don’t like about where I am now. I won’t even get into all the stuff I don’t like about not being strictly a teacher librarian, I signed on for the mixed job, and I will do any job I accepted to the best of my abilities. I am such a nerd; I love teaching my students how to create folders in their server space to organize their work because I saw how that skill was missing in my high school students, so I figured I would nip it in the bud. One kid even created a new folder for Student Council and showed it to the teacher that does SC so that she could access it if she needed to—I was so proud to find out the skill transferred outside my 45 minutes with his class! A nerd, I know.
The best reason to keep me from blogging this month was the weekend Jason, Mishy, and Addison came to town from
Finally, yesterday I was thrilled to stand up at my dear friend Holly’s wedding to Josh, the true love of her life. It was a lovely weekend full of preparation and celebration. There is a picture of Keith and I posted. Shelly did Holly and Julie’s hair and makeup, so I was having her do my makeup when she decided to add some movement to my wig with some hot rollers and a clip. The affect was fabulous, even though it made Julie and I late for pictures. I felt totally natural in it, but it is back on the Styrofoam head on my dresser and the bald look is back. It is rather cold though with so much scalp open to the air.
Look forward to next Sundayish when I will post pictures from the Halloween party next weekend. Our costumes are a secret to those planning to go to it, so mum is the word for now, but it will be good!
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