Playing the Waiting Game

So I guess I get the first official post. Welcome! Dan and I hope that you'll visit often and share our blog with others who may be going through something similar. And hopefully you'll leave lots of comments :)

When we received the news last week that there has been a "modest but real" spread in Dan's cancer, it was a pretty harsh blow. I think we were both shocked. After all, we had just signed the contract for our wedding reception and Dan had fully rebounded from the virus that landed him in the hospital at the end of April. There was no reason to think that things hadn't fully returned to normal.

I've learned a few things over the past couple of days. First off, I must now admit that I am a weeper. I cry a lot, usually in short spurts & sometimes in public (to my own embarassment). But not only because I am scared and worried for Dan... I also seem to cry at any sort of expression of support from people, which is a plus. I remember very early on in our relationship, Dan said it was ok to cry when dealing with cancer, but that we should just try to let it take up only 10% of the time and focus the other 90% of the time on being productive. I think it's solid advice.

Second, I learned that we're a pretty resilient pair. I think some of my favorite moments of our relationship occurred this weekend, and we really didn't do much but the normal weekend stuff. I think allowing yourself to eat ice cream in extremely generous amounts helps.

Lastly, I learned that nothing good comes from feeling sorry for yourself. Allow that 10% time limit and then get moving. I used to wonder what people do when they get discouraging news like we did. Here is what we did this weekend- cleaned the house, went to a golf tournament, started our blog, went to a bbq, watched movies, went to Church, drove around looking for possible neighborhoods to buy a house, and spent a bunch of time on the foundation (finished the bylaws, updated & posted the 2008 scholarship application & finally wrote up last year's winners). Lots of normal, everyday stuff.

After all, Dan doesn't feel any different than he did last week, so there wasn't much of an excuse to sit around and do nothing. We both know that there is a bumpy road ahead, but I think we're getting on just fine at the moment.

We won't hear from Dan's oncologist, Dr. D, until late in the week. So in the meantime, thanks for all of your emails, texts & calls. Just b/c we may not respond immediately doesn't mean that they aren't helping!

We look forward to hearing from you!