Well that was fast. Or was it?

Yesterday, appropriately Juneteenth (if you're not from Texas, ask somebody), was the fourth anniversary of my last chemotherapy! I was diagnosed just before Christmas in 2006 and had right-side mastectomy on Jan 31. Began chemo on February 28. Had five rounds, three weeks apart (except for a rescheduling in order to help wrangle Ann Taylor's and Mark Smith's wedding) and finished on Tuesday, June 19th! My, how time flies . . .

So much has happened since then. Aegis went under. Chuck had an angioplasty. Casey got weirder. I went to work for Exterran, then landed in what I thought would be my dream job. And that's when the nightmare began.

Now I'm able to "take it easy" between panic attacks. And what keeps me going, I am CERTAIN, is being able to work on my physical health. Seeing improvements in my strength and fitness gives me some of the satisfaction that I used to derive from my professional career. I don't know if I'll ever develop a PASSION for fitness and working out and sweating, but I'm able to do more of it with less whining, and that's a plus for everyone involved.

Happy Juneteenth to all . . . no matter what you celebrate!

I choose to try to stay focused on something

Please take a look at this new website. A half dozen "middle-aged women" are going to take the mountain. Kilimanjaro, in September. I am not kidding. The theme is WE CHOOSE TO CLIMB!

http://wechoosetoclimb.com/index.html

I train with them some days, and in my imagination I will be going with them. But in real life, the odds of my going are slim and none. Nevertheless, I am enthusiastic about their cause and their motivation motivates ME! Go figure!

Wednesday evening, the group made a trek of about 6 miles; I did four and was pretty impressed with myself. It was 98 degrees at 6:30 in the evening when we started out; when I drove home at 8 pm, it was down to 93.

Friday morning, I thought I'd do it again and decided to go to Memorial Park to walk the 3 mile circuit. I had my morning chai; then I ate a hard-boiled egg. I was going to eat some other stuff but then got on the phone for a while. When I noticed it was 11 am, I thought, "I'd better get out of here." Started walking at 11:15 with a light backpack, hat, sunscreen, two bottles of water. I was fine. Until mile 2, when I ran out of gas. I wasn't too hot, my legs weren't sore, I just couldn't GO. The sun was exactly overhead, so there was little shade. I slogged a few hundred steps, then rested. Then slogged a few more. I honestly wasn't certain I was going to make it. I'm embarrassed to say that it took me more than an hour and a half. So now I know: don't go without having eaten. Shana says two eggs and oatmeal. I'll try that tomorrow morning and see if I can do it without fainting this time.