About this past decade

A word about the past decade, fondly referred to as My 50s.
Here are just some of my observations as I sit here in my robe on a Sunday morning having begged off church because of a headache, a troubled stomach and now the horror of discovering I've been kicked off Kacey's Suggesting Reading List. (I must be more troubled by this than I would admit.)
This won't be a complete list, but for posterity, here are some highlights of this most eventful 10 years:
I do remember clearly that I celebrated my 50th birthday with one less breast that I had the previous year. I'd had a masectomy sometime in February, two months after Ken had had a tumor and two cysts removed from his spine. I was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer; had opted for a masectomy and reconstructive surgery. It seemed a tummy tuck could be at least one of the bennies I got from this. My dearest friend Margot sent me a box with something like 30 little ;gifts wrapped that I was to open every day until my birthday. It was very unlike her. Not that she's not giving, but I think she registered the severity of this more than I did. On March 16, 1999, Ken had staged a surprise birthday party on the eve of my reconstructive surgery. It was a fun affair. My parents were there. They had come to nurse me through the harder surgery than the masectomy, which was almost like out-patient surgery. The next day, St. Patrick's Day, my parents drove me to the hospital. Ken came, but he wasin tremendous pain and they had to find a bed for him to rest in during the surgery. When I came out of surgery all these people trooped into my hospital room. I was a sorry sight and not up to receiving company, but their presence was sweet. Amanda was living at home. Lucas had come with his girlfriend, Beth, and was dissuaded from having her spend the weekend at our home given it was pretty crowded.
that birthday I remember.
I went from being senior editor of the Features Dept at the Arizona Republic to being West Valley editor of some sort. A fall my friend Ellen helped me negotiate and whose sound, clear advice I've passed on to countless people and followed myself in more than a work related scenario. Basically, take notes. It's very calming. She also taught me through this that when something crummy like this happens that's more a blow to your ego than anything else you don't have to fall into a cavern of self-loathing and navel-gazing. You can take notes and plan Plan b.
I'm taking too long on this retrospect.
Here are the others: More surgeries for Ken; Lucas graduating from college; Amanda graduating from college; Amanda getting a job at Thunderbird; Lucas getting an internship in Chicago and spending the summer with the Culps. Me navi9gating a zip line at Leadership West and proving that my body did work even after a masectomy.
Driving Lucas to Chicago and spending three nights in Gallup, N.M., proving that I could find the FedEx route and have the delivery schedule changed. Driving to Chicago with Amanda and proving that maybe I shouldn't drive across country with my children. We were rescued by a truck driver outside of Tulsa who wondered what two women were doing driving across country hauling a car and driving a UHaul truck.
Joining Weight Watchers w/ Ken and losing 15 pounds and understanding I couldn't eat anything I wanted. Ever.
Moving to Barbados Place and emptying out our home of 15 years.
Kaiau, or however, you spell it. We went there'
Selling the cabin.
Meeting Melissa and understanding she would be the woman Lucas would marry. Their wedding.
Meeting Michael and hoping he was patient enough with Amanda and himself to risk proposing. He was. They are. Their wedding and spending much of the reception in the ER with my mother who'd gotten ill when we walked into the Gleacher Center where the reception was held.
Learning my father had stage 4 lung cancer. Being with him when he died.
Being with my mother who had to learn to live alone. Moving her to Peabody.
And somewhere in the middle of this I learned that cruising is really a whole lot of fun. Ken and I repeated our wedding vows on one of those cruises officiated by Margot - the ceremony not the cruise.
That driving on the left side of the road in England is tricky.
Having my first novel published and being on Oprah (just kidding.)
Exercising daily. (Kidding there too.)