Changes

Last week at work we received a memo from our CEO informing us that our company is struggling. In order to prevent lay offs, everyone in the company, including him would be required to take one or two days leave without pay a month depending on your salary. Hopefully, he wrote, that by September everything would be good and we would return to normal. A day without pay is a sacrifice that will no doubt be harder on some of us than on others, but it's the way it has to be and I sure hate to think of anyone being layed off. Changes take place and we just learn to deal with them, roll with the punches and pray that things will be okay.

I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and all the changes that have taken place in my life have been for some reason. No matter if the changes have caused hurt, emotional, physical or in the case of the leave without pay day, financial stress, it all happens for a reason and we grow, learn and become stronger because of the changes. Having cancer brings about major changes in your life and some of them are for the better.

Since I was diagnosed with BC I've been more aware of everything around me and things that I normally take for granted are precious to me now. Each day's a blessing and regardless what I'm doing for the day, I'm glad I'm alive to do it. I have a job that I love so going in to work is something I look forward to anyway, hanging and doing things with friends is always a pleasure, being with my family is precious time spent and even just being at home sitting outside on the porch listening to and watching the birds is a wonderful experience. At anytime, any of this events could change, people come into our lives everyday and some leave. Seasons change, the birds fly south, and companies change their policies and procedures.

Life is a series of changing events and a lot of times we can't do anything to control those events so we just hang in there and do the best we can. For those of us who have been diagnosed with cancer, we hang on with both hands, our feet and every ounce of strength we have. We celebrate little things such as finishing a round or cycle of chemo or radiation and most definetly, clear scans and test results. I'm thankful that mine have all been good and I'm so excited about completing my cycle of round number six on Wednesday of chemo.

I've got 5 pink braclets on my left wrist each one represents one round of chemo, I only have to put one more on that wrist to complete my cycle. When I start my radiaton, I'll move them back to my right wrist and each week I complete of radiation, I will move one back to my left wrist. It's a visual aid that reminds me, as if I needed it, LOL that my treatments are coming to an end and the changes that they have caused within my body are all for the good! So I say let's celebrate change and enjoy life, one pink braclet at a time!