Making change

Our toy cash register

It’s been awhile since I posted in this blog.  The good news is  life is back to “normal” in the sense that I am not undergoing any treatment for cancer.   I am feeling pretty much recovered from all the side effects.  There’s still some aches and pains and sensations but at this point I honestly don’t know if it’s still from treatment or if it’s from aging, LOL.  The joke among my “cancer friends” is that we can blame most any symptom we are feeling as a lingering side effect from chemo!

Here we are at the start of 2014.  A new year.  A clean slate.  Another fresh start.  It’s probably a blessing that we don’t know ahead of time what the year may bring.  One thing I learned through this whole journey is not to worry about what may or may not happen but to take one day at a time and to enjoy life to its fullest. (Matt.6:27) Whatever comes my way, I am confident that God will give me the strength I need and will not leave me to walk  alone. (Deut. 31:6) He has brought me through some very tough days.  The road ahead may include some steep inclines, rough terrain, deep valleys, curvy and winding roads, an occasional bump in the road, and detours but my GPS (God Perspective System) will keep me focused knowing that He has my best interest in mind.  We won’t always understand the course He has us on but we can be assured of where we’ll end up ultimately.

I enjoyed the bike the most for cardio…actually steered on the courses selected!

New Year’s is a popular time to make resolutions on changes we want to make in our life as we reflect on how we did the previous year.  Some things are out of our control but many are not. We have a choice on how we’ll travel our journey through the year. Probably some of the most popular resolutions are health related…exercise, lose weight, eat healthier, get more rest, etc.  Most of these are broken within a month and then people just give up completely.  I wish more people looked internally to make changes…attitude adjustments and heart issues…than just externally.

My graduating class…12 weeks of sweat and tears.

I think the success of a resolution boils down to desire, motivation, discipline, and wisdom.  You have to really want to reach a goal bad enough in order to do something about it.  There has to be reason to reach it.  You have to have an obtainable plan to get there and it has to be plan that if followed will indeed get you there.

As a child I enjoyed playing “store.”  When I was teaching my own children, we used a play cash register and they learned how to make change.  We would set up toys and other items and put price tags on them.  They would “shop” and purchase items or be the cashier, but either way they had to learn how to count money and make change. It was a process and took time to learn.

Receiving my diploma and yellow rose at Livestrong graduation

doing the leg press

Do you really want to make change in some areas?  Then do something about it.  I know for myself that last year I set a goal to run in a 5K and to start getting myself back in shape physically after going through cancer treatment.  I did run the 5 K in September and then I also signed up for the Livestrong program at the YMCA.  It is a free 12 week program for cancer survivors that encompasses cardio, strength, and flexibility.  It was a big commitment.  I had never even been in a gym before.  Not only did I learn a lot and get healthy and fit but I met a great group of people as well.  Now at the start of the new year I am ready to take on the challenge of trying to maintain my fitness.  I am still not sure whether I will join a gym or do it on my own at home but I am determined to follow through.  I feel better than I have in a long time.

Whatever my journey this year encompasses, I am determined to go through it feeling my best, not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. “Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.” (1 Tim.4:8 MSG)  Change is hard but if we stick with it and really want it, with God’s help we can achieve it.  Here’s to the best in 2014.

The Unveiling

So 2012 is drawing to a close which brings us to a new year.  It’s probably a good thing that no one ever knows for sure all that will happen in the coming year or we might not want to face it!  Just because the date changes we somehow feel we are entitled to a fresh or new start but isn’t that true of each new day?  I ‘m not real good with resolutions and have a feeling many others aren’t either.  Rather than making a New Year’s resolution I thought that I would just make a new start in some areas.

Bringing in the new year with a new look

I told myself that at the start of the new year I would uncover my head.  Since I lost my hair in May exactly two weeks after my first chemo treatment I have had it covered with a wig or a scarf.  I actually liked how I looked in a wig but didn’t really enjoy wearing it.  It was itchy, sweaty at times, hot, and felt unnatural.  Nothing felt better than taking it off after wearing it all day although I felt good in it.  Cotton scarfs were more comfortable and I had fun with them but at the same time was getting tired of wearing one.  I wanted my hair to come in long enough that I could do something (anything) with it.  Now it has reached a point where I can gel up the top so it isn’t plastered against my head.

Knowing I would finally “go naked” and expose my covered skull I figured Christmas break would be a good time to get use to it before going back to work.  After the “unveiling” the first day I easily got over my lack of self-confidence and now actually enjoy having the freedom of nothing on my head.  It probably isn’t the greatest time of year to be doing this…in fact it’s the worst as even a person with a full head of hair needs a hat!  Then again, it wasn’t like I planned all this to happen either.  I joked with someone and told them that I had told the hairstylist to “Just take a LITTLE off and THIS is what happened!”

I’ve had some comments that it looks like Halle Berry’s hair style.  It may be a similar hair style but it’s obvious that the similarity between us stops there!  Oh how it would be nice to be compared to her body and beauty instead of her hair. Speaking of similarities, once one of my daughter’s friends whom I had never met before was introduced to me while I had my wig on.  He said he could see the similarity between mother and daughter, especially in regards to our hair.  I said, “Really?” and proceeded to pull my wig off.  He almost fell over with shock as my daughter and I laughed.

After having had a “covering” on my head for the last 7 months or so I feel exposed and almost vulnerable, especially with the cold weather.  It reminds me of how God is our covering, like an umbrella over us, protecting us and keeping us safe and warm.  Psalm 91:4 reads, “He will cover you with his wings. Under the feathers of his wings you will find safety.  He is faithful. He will keep you safe like a shield or a tower.” (NIRV)   “His huge outstretched arms protect you— under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm.” (Message)  In Luke 12:34 we see the picture of Jesus like a mother hen longing to gather us under his arms and cover us, take care of us, love us, and protect us; “…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (NIV)  Now that is one kind of covering that I don’t ever want to get out from under!

Like I said, resolutions are not my thing.  I am happy I went through with my unveiling.  Some of my other “new starts” also began before the new year like enjoying life daily realizing that none of us knows how much time we have.  Laugh much…I started putting a joke a day as my FB status, even if I’m the only one to laugh at them!  Don’t sweat the small stuff and hand the big stuff over to God.  How about you?  What new starts will you add in your life?