A Birthday

Mine. Turned 48 this year. A very quiet, low key celebration. Truthfully, celebration is probably not the best word to describe it this year. Round 3 was on Tuesday the 24th of August and my birthday was the 27th. Of course, THIS time round, my worst day seemed to be the Friday. Couldn't have been Wednesday or Thursday this time, as had been the case with Rounds 1 and 2. Nooooooo. I woke up Friday morning feeling horrible and just didn't get any better.

Gaby and my Mom spent the morning baking and frosting a yummy red velvet cake. Gaby also made one of her special signs for the occasion.

The birthday girl!

Lately, I keep telling people I feel better than I look in a lot of the photos I see of myself. Well, this time, I felt as bad as I looked here. What you see is what I was feeling -- pretty crappy!  No make up, jewellry, flattering colours, nada. A beautiful little black cap that does nothing to enhance the look.

I was talking to my sister Linda on the phone here. She had called just as they were bringing the cake out, so we just kept talking.

It took me more than one try to blow out those many candles, and they did a bit of a melt job on the frosting.

We had ordered Rosario's for supper. A pizza and wings. They have  delectible wings with just the right amount of heat for me and they always include blue cheese dip. On that day, I was having nothin' to do with them. Good old plain pizza for me. That's all I could stomach.

And I'm sad to say that I had none of that yummy cake. Not one bite.

That wasn't the case on Tuesday, when Mom and Dad took us out for my birthday dinner.

Check out my plate. Not a morsel left! We also had take out tiramisu and I polished off my portion as soon as we got home. That was a great dinner. Thanks Mom and Dad! ( they were there too but I didn't get a picture of them -- errors and omissions such as this I blame on chemo brain)

It also took me over a week to get a photo of the sign Gaby made. I actually put it back up today and had her pose in front of it with me. She wised up this year and didn't put an age on it, so that we can put it away and use it again next year, and the year after that. And so on.

Didn't she do a fabulous job?

Here's one more view of it. I should put these side by side like Life magazine, to see if you can find the differences between the two photos.

You've probably figured it out. Gaby's not smiling in the second photo.

Oh, yeah, and I have no hair. Actually, I had no hair in the first photo either, but my head was covered. So technically, it's that I have no scarf on my head in the second photo!

I think I wish I was brave enough to go out like this, because with the heat we've had, it would feel much much better. However, with that heat, I'd have to be mindful of the sun, and the possibility of burning this virgin skin.

I also really don't think I'd be comfortable with the attention, double takes and stares. I would certainly think twice about showing up at Gaby's school, or at church to teach Sunday school (Pre K and K) without something covering my dome. It's just such a distraction.

On the other hand, if I was away from home, on vacation, where no one knows me, I probably wouldn't think twice about it. I actually wore a two piece bathing suit on a dare from my husband (or was it a lost bet?) when we were in OCMD 5 years ago. And that was at the end of August, after having worn a one piece all summer, so it was glaringly obvious that I was wearing a new suit. But you wouldn't have caught me doing that at the local pool.

Perhaps if I was an athlete.

A story was featured on the news about a month ago about a local woman, a triathlete, and her past and successful battle with breast cancer. Going from the water to her bike to running, any sort of head covering would just be a hindrance, so her head remained uncovered. But she looked cool. Mall walkers just don't have that same image. We might wish we did, but that's just not reality.

The pace I keep, whether walking around the mall or the block, allows me to keep a hat on my head. I did get a couple of hats that are supposed to be made for exercise, and I do wear them for walking. They're also good for inside when the AC's a bit chilly. (with Nick's allergies, the windows remain closed most of the time)

I've strayed from the original subject, having a birthday during chemo. Sucks in some ways, but proof that life does go on. Cancer must be dealt with, fought, and defeated, 365 days a year.

And even though it wasn't much of a celebration, I was fortunate to be with my parents for my birthday, which doesn't happen every year. So that's a good thing.