Even On The Rainiest Day...

Kylynn Aria

   Over the past month I have managed to cross off a number of items on my "bucket list". The biggest of those has to be seeing my Kylynn Aria make her First Communion. When I was first diagnosed and sat looking at my sweet girl, who then was only a year and a half old, it broke my heart to think about all the events in her life that I may never get to see. Her First Communion, her Confirmation, her high school and college graduations, her wedding, the birth of any babies she may have. It's a long list and I still worry about seeing many of these things, but I feel so blessed that I was there to see my baby make her First Communion. When I traveled to Medjugorje all those years ago in 2007 the only thing my Aria asked me to bring her was a pink rosary. I picked out the cutest pink rosary that I could find and brought it home to her. But my mom and I also searched all over that small village buying all the different pink rosaries that we could find because I wanted to have them to give to Kylynn on all the big occasions that she had ahead of her. When I brought those rosaries home it was hard to imagine that I would ever get to hand my Ari one. She was so small then and her First Communion seemed a lifetime away. I cannot begin to tell you what a joy it was to put that first rosary in her hands and telling her the story of how I looked all of Medjugorje for these special rosaries for her. Kylynn may not have understood the huge significance of the moment, and that's okay, she will remember it when she is older and understand. But for now, I knew what a big deal it was and that's enough. Another special thing about Kylynn's First Communion is that we had my wedding dress made over into a communion gown for her. It turned out beautifully and looked like a smaller version of my dress. Kylynn also wore my veil.

Kylynn and Me

   These last two items that recently got crossed off of my list are, in the grand scheme of things, smaller, but still very important to me. By now you must know of my love for the singing group Celtic Thunder and the delight that they bring me. I have previously had the opportunity to meet most of the guys in the group but the two that I have wanted to meet the most, Ryan and Neil, have managed to elude me... until recently. As luck would have it, these to talented and not bad looking men teamed up to play at some smaller venues with their Acoustic By Candlelight tour. Last weekend that tour brought them through the Chicago area and I was able to see them two nights in a row!  After the show the guys took time to meet with everyone, take pictures, and sign pictures and, in my case, a shirt for my Aria. So that was one item checked off my list.

Neil, Me, & Ryan!

Neil & Ryan holding a message for Kylynn

Wow! It really has been a long time since I last posted. So much has been going on, and I am happy to report that is mostly good stuff!

First, I returned to Mayo in January for a check-up. It was four months since my last check so I was quite nervous. However, everything still looks stable! My liver is still full of big holes from tumors being removed but there is no sign of new tumor growth. YEA!!!! My lungs still have all of the tumors that were the before, but they are growing at a such a slow rate that my doctor feels that there is no need to restart chemo right now. And here is the most surprising news, my doctor said I can go six, count them, SIX, months before I have to return for another check-up. That means the rest of Kylynn's school year will not have to be disrupted by my being away at the doctor. In fact, this school year has been Kylynn's first since she started school that I have only had to make two trips up to Mayo Clinic. That makes me smile.

In other news, Kylynn has been keeping me quite busy with her Irish dancing. We just finished up the St. Patrick's Day marathon of performances where my Aria was in ten shows over the course of a week. It was a lot of fun and I am so proud of my girl, but I am also exhausted. Now it is on to the Spring Performance and Kylynn's first feis (Irish dance competition) in May!

So there you have it. A happy little girl and six months before I have to return to Mayo. Many people have been asking me what I am doing about my cancer and the best answer I can think of to sum up what I am doing right now is a quote from my man, Han Solo in Return of the Jedi:

Luke: Vader's on that ship.
Han Solo: Now don't get jittery, Luke. There are a lot of command ships. Keep your distance, though, Chewie, but don't look like you're trying to keeping your distance.
Chewbacca: [barks something]
Han Solo: I don't know. Fly casual.

That's me, I'm flying casual, keeping my distance from cancer and Mayo without looking like I'm trying to keep my distance. :)

So it would seem that even the worst storm has to recede sometime and though it almost certainly will return, you learn to enjoy the sun when it shines and master the art of flying casual!