Future Date

Friday, February 10, 2012: Last night, Dean and I went to dinner at a new-to-us place right here in our little town. It's called Smedley's and it's in an old red-brick house on the corner of Main Street and 300 North that was built in 1893. Such charm! The dining areas are in the parlor and dining room and bedrooms of this wonderful old house. They specialize in BBQ straight out of the original smokehouse. Dean had ribs, I had a stuffed burger, and we both had the green salad that was like a smorgasbord of garden veggies. I liked it. It was a good change for our anniversary. And anyone who knows us well knows that we don't often journey far from our favorites. So, this was a treat, which was just what I needed after the past few days of doctor and hospital visits.

I got the call from Dr. Adler's scheduling assistant for the endoscopy/biopsy appointment this morning. I started to tell her that I could do any day EXCEPT next Wednesday, which is packed with activities already, but before I could say a word, she said, "Now, the appointment will have to be on a Wednesday." Of course it does, why not? I could hear her punching her keyboard, and then she announced, "Okay, I can get you in on March 7."

After getting it all arranged, I hung up and had to sit back for a minute. March 7 is the day I was first diagnosed with melanoma one year ago. Coincidence? No. Irony? Yes. Our lives are a series of patterns, whether it's celebrating wedding vows or the day we received dreadful news. I hope that someday at some future date March 7 will be just another spring day and it will pass by like all the rest. I guess I could commemorate it this year as the first year of me surviving the big C and that every March 7 from now on will continue to be a celebration. Just wish I didn't have to be reminded of it by undergoing another procedure where I have to be knocked out and poked with needles...

(Picture: Road trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats on the 4th of July 2011. I think I'm even wearing earrings again after having my pierced ears swell up and close off during radiation.)