What is your wake-up call for change? I originally wrote this blog post, The Wake-up Call for Change, on March 30, 2021. It has since allowed me to form a beautiful friendship with Parul Dua Makkar, the sister of Manu Dua. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because we all knew Manu. Manu had started blogging and had dreams and plans to turn his writings into a book. He never had the chance to see it to fruition, so in big-sisterly fashion, Parul jumped in to keep her brother’s legacy alive. She worked hard to create and publish Manu’s book,...
Last Thursday I had a really good cry. I can assure you it was a good, long, ugly cry. And it felt so good. That day was the one-year anniversary of my last targeted chemotherapy infusion. It’s been quite a year, a tough one for many. But given how 2019 was for me, 2020 has been a breeze. I’ve been happy. It seems almost suspiciously happy, the kind of happy that you don’t think is humanly possible. Most of the time it’s a carefree feeling. I’ve not been bothered by the small things, and when I am, I can quickly...
Would you agree that our perspective dictates everything we experience in life? We often hear how our thoughts create our reality. In a way, that’s true, but really, it’s more accurate to say that our thoughts create our perception of reality. Two weeks ago, I sprained my ankle. Yup. Just as I was getting myself back into a gym routine, I had another setback. I wish I could say it was a super cool accident, but it wasn’t. Leaving the gym, I missed a step, and landed on the top of my foot. I heard a giant crack and, seconds...
Today was my last cancer treatment. Actually, by the time you’re reading this, it was yesterday. It’s been a strange day, one that holds a mix of emotions that leaves me unsure of how to feel. It’s good though. On the one hand, I’m beyond excited to be done. After 14 months of treatment, I never imagined arriving at this day. The idea of finishing what felt like a list of never-ending treatments, seemed impossible. I await the moments of anxiety and fear of recurrence that will pop up, and I wonder if my life will ever stay feeling normal...
We often hear how we can manifest what we want simply by thinking about the very thing. It’s the Law of Attraction. My first exposure to this kind of thinking was when The Secret came out quite a few years ago. While some of the principles seemed pretty cool, I remember thinking, “so, if I say I want to win the lottery, then I will win it? Why hasn’t it worked yet?” I didn’t buy into it, and I’m not sure I want to. We can’t just say we want this or that and expect to get it. It’s not...
A funny thing has happened to me in recent weeks. I’ve started feeling happy, and positive, and more like myself again. I’m not going to lie, it felt really strange at first. Part of me didn’t trust it at all, and the other part of me thought maybe it was too soon. I kept waiting for it to go away and be replaced by the fear and sadness that has consumed my last year. Then one word popped into my head: Resilience. And all of my newfound enthusiasm made sense. On August 13, 2018, I came home from my mammogram...
If you’ve ever done yoga, you’ve probably gone to a class where they happen to talk about the one theme you needed to hear that day. It happens to me often. Sometimes my blog posts do that for someone too. I hope this one arrives on a day you need it. Several months ago, the day my hair started falling out, I randomly went to yoga, and the teacher spoke all about what happens when it seems like our world is falling down around us. Literally a part of me– my hair– was falling down around me by the handful,...
Last week I wrote about how unique this New Year transition has been. Taking a back seat on all of the New Year’s hype was a bit different for me. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about dressing up and going to the biggest party in town. That’s never been my style. I’m talking about the party that’s going on in my head– the planning and excitement for a new year and a chance to take inventory. As I watched the New Year happen all around me, it gave me a new set of eyes. It helped me to...
If you’re anything like me, you probably like to think you have more control over your life than you do. Then reality smacks you in the face when you get a pesky reminder that you’re not really in control of any of it. This getting cancer thing has been one of those reminders for me. Cancer rocks your world. I always imagined how difficult it would be, but you never quite “get it” until you actually get it. Experiencing life’s most serious challenges always provides that smack in the face. In August when I was first diagnosed, all I felt...
I recently shared with you my dilemma about my cold cap. The question was whether I should allow myself to go bald, or whether I should suffer through the pain of wearing the cold cap for mediocre results. It’s amazing what writing down your thoughts can do to help you gain clarity. I had been struggling for a good month to come to a decision. It was weighing heavily on me, but in the days I put it in writing, a few things happened to help guide me in my decision-making process. I finally feel confident in my choice. I’ve decided to...
