It has been SO long since I have posted, I have passed my two-year Cancer-versary, my one year anniversary of reconstruction, and I am almost done with the one year of the clinical trial! It is a testament to how ‘normal’ my life has become, that I no longer have cancer news to blog about. I feel great, still NED (no evidence of disease), and the doctor’s visits are few and far between. That being said, I still have regular blood work, 3 month oncology visits, and careful monitoring BUT, 2 years down! And I haven’t had any acquaintances recently diagnosed, which is a welcome change.
Our local newspaper has been running a series of articles on ‘aging’ athletes, and Wednesday they highlighted volleyball. I had been contacted for an interview and so were 2 of my teammates. They centered on a male teammate of a friend of mine, but little blurbs were listed for each of us. Of course they centered on the cancer aspect, which was just mentioned in passing. Sometimes I would like to be considered as something other than a walking cancer survivor advertisement! Although if it inspires anyone to surge forward through the difficulties, and continue with your normal life, it is worth it.
Before the Games began....
Other great news, last weekend the 3.5 women’s tennis team that I captain, won the Central Pennsylvania championships! Next we head to Princeton, NJ for sectionals. Should we win that, we would qualify for Nationals. A real possibility, although I doubt our team would attend. It is in Tuscon, AZ the exact same time I am in Utah for the Senior Volleyball tournament. Only 2 of our members have ever made it to Princeton before, so it was very exciting! A hot, 90+ degree weekend, and we had to win 3 matches in a row to do it. All the more impressive, considering it was NOT a senior play-off (we played 18 and 26 year olds in singles), and our entire team was seniors. OK, one was 49, but close enough. I was so proud of our team, and now setting up arrangements for the trip, which is the 19-21 of August, 5 days after I return from Maine.
After the Games - at the winner's tree!
While I was competing in tennis, my senior volleyball team was winning gold in the state games! Wish I could have been in 2 places, and I like to think they would have won even if I had been there 
Our gold medal team - without me!
Finally, the most exciting news (although not totally unexpected), was the engagement of our daughter Cheryl, to her boyfriend Andrew. He was kind enough to ask our permission (when all he really needed was hers!) the day before, and the proposal was in the Rose Garden at Longwood Gardens. They plan for a destination wedding next year sometime, which thrills me, as I didn’t look forward to planning a big event. Below is a photo of the ring, VERY gorgeous and sparkly, puts all the ones from my generation to shame!
Maggie has been swimming this summer, and is getting a bit more comfortable. Not thrilled, but doesn’t fight it. Maybe she will actually enjoy the lake in Maine – IF it gets hot enough.
