We have now crossed over into the 1st of November. It is interesting how the end of October is now our transition cycle point as it was with the ancient Celts. Instead of us preparing for winter with gathering in the last of the crops and setting up winter enclosures for the animals, ours is completing the first year of brain cancer recurrence treatment/ survival and moving to a new mode of living. This jives well with the transition/ mixing holidays associated with the dead and the living, like what has evolved with Samhain/ All Hallow’s Eve/ Halloween/ Dia de los Muertos. You could say this last year, was kind of like being in limbo and now we are starting to connect with other living souls.
It is interesting how a simple trip to the doctor’s office can breath fresh air into your lungs. You may recall that in August, there were two non-enhancing spots found in Susie’s scans. In our visit this month to MD Anderson, the scans came back as stable. One of the spots was confirmed as caused by a mild infarction or mini stroke. The other has become less bright and is classified as radiation effect. So, the recommendation is we continue on an every two month follow-up cycle. We did discuss options in regards to possible future events. To which, Susie will be undergoing advanced genetic testing to see what is on the research bench or clinical trials around the nation that she could qualify for, if she has another recurrence. In the meantime, she continues to swim twice a week and we are ready to live life again.
So last weekend, at the last minute, we threw together our pumpkin carving party. What a great turnout and so many kids. The pumpkins were awesome and there were lots of smiles and laughter. There were new faces to gathering, which is such a delight. We ended October with Susie and I setting up a witch on our front porch, along with a scary Jack-O-Lantern. We joined these two festive objects last night (along with our neighbor from across the street) to hand out treats to the holiday revelers. Sneaky Pearl surprised us by walking around the house in a slip with a pig mask on. It was quite eerie to behold.
As we transition today to All Saints Day, I leave you with a traditional English song ‘Soul Cake’ performed by Sting in his Winter’s Tale album. Enjoy.
