Resiliency

July 7, 2011: Seven days gone in July already. Four months today since the diagnosis. One month today since my last radiation treatment. (Someone asked me, "So you're ALL done with radiation?" I said, "For now..." and then, I said, "YES! I'm ALL done, forever and ever!" Gotta have that faith...)

Had a good 4th of July weekend. You have to be creative about celebrations when you can't rely on FOOD to make you happy. Good thing I live with two (well, one and one who wishes he wasn't one) people who are willing to forgo our standard food pleasures and traditions until the taste buds are back in line again. Who would have thunk it?

We did the Eaglewood fireworks on Saturday, but admit that we're spoiled by the Mueller Park display on Pioneer Day. Eaglewood's finale is like every first, middle, and last bomb that explodes at Mueller...sigh. Of course, it could be that we're lying right underneath the ones at Mueller - so awesome. Most of the fireworks this year were NOT on the 4th, so that night, we parked on the mountain high above the city, where we could see the valley from North Salt Lake to Roy, and watched the display of thousands of neighborhood aerial fireworks (just legal this year here in UT). It was very cool, I have to admit.

We also took a road trip on the 4th, heading west. J wanted to see the Bonneville Salt Flats, and I realized I've never seen them in real-life before either. I've always imagined them to be completely flat - sand-like - and smooth. Not so. Stepping out onto the dazzling white ground, we found that the surface was bumpy/lumpy and sticky. J ventured out and found that the salt crystals were stiff and sharp to touch, and even, a little stringy, like hair. Strange. We imagined Johnny Depp/Captain Jack Sparrow walking where we had walked (doubtful, right?) in that crazy scene in Pirates 3, and I had the urge to go home and watch the delightful film, "The World's Fastest Indian" with Anthony Hopkins. Since we were only 9 miles from Wendover, we also decided to straddle the UT/NV border. Tried to check out a buffet, but at $13 per person (and one of those persons not able to eat much), decided to have good ol' Subway. Yep, went all the way to Nevada to eat lunch at Subway!

I've also thought a lot about "resiliency" lately. When Mom was here, she bought me a Topsy Turvy hanging tomato planter. We've nursed that tomato plant through root shock, rainstorms, heat and dry spells, hoping that it would survive long enough to produce at least one tomato. I was happy one day to see that one long stalk had about 6 little yellow blossoms on it - hooray! Tomatoes! Then, the next day, a fierce wind came up and whipped that poor plant to shreds. When I went out to check on any damage in the yard, I saw that the blossoming stalk had broken and was withered. I wanted to cry! BUT - and here's the tender mercy - after cutting off that dead stalk, the plant has revived and is bursting with little yellow blossoms. We will have lots of tomatoes one of these days! As I think about my journey the past four months - and the daily challenges that come with July, as our Passey/Boynton family contemplate the passings of our sweet daddy, Roy, and our beautiful mom, Janice - I understand how faith and prayer and courage and hope make us resilient to yielding to the broken parts of our lives. Like the tomato plant, we will blossom again - whether in this world or the next - and we will be better than ever. Sometimes it just takes a little wind, a little battering, a little cutting - but the end result is worth it.