How Often do I Write?

I was asked last week how often I write my blog and I said that I write whenever I feel like it. This wasn't exactly true though I suppose... I write when I am overwhelmed with some sort of emotion, whether that is fear, anxiety, frustration, inspiration; anytime I just can't keep it in anymore.

There is no new news on my health. I am still waiting for a pathology report that is expected to come back clean. I am still self-conscious about the new shape of my body and the scars. I am still trying to view these things as struggles that have made me stronger and wiser. It can be hard to see it this way though.

I am writing today because I have an overwhelming feeling that my life is just not meant to go my way. I don't understand why everything has to be something I need to struggle through. Now, enough with the self-pity, I work everyday with women who have overcome a lot more than I will ever have to, I really shouldn't complain, but my heart is having a hard time today.

The relationship front is getting me down. For a long time I have been optimistically hoping to find someone who I just like to be around and can have fun with and who will want me as much as I want them. I've dated plenty and come up empty handed. I've gone through phases of just wanting to be single, and I've gone through phases where I feel like my life will never be complete without someone to share it with. Now I am trying to be content with believing whatever will be, will be.

People say you don't know what you've got until it's gone. I don't think I've experienced that... when my relationships have ended I have been ready for them to end and haven't looked back. I never realized how much I really do miss the little things about being in a relationship because of just how DONE I've always been by the time things have ended.

In the last couple of weeks I experienced a short and sweet version of what I had been missing in the last year and a half. I haven't been swept off my feet with romance or persued to the extent where I know I am truly wanted or needed, these are things that I would have been hoping for before. Instead I found someone who I just genuinely enjoy being around. It's the little things that count: Being able to laugh with someone, casual glances, affection-even just a touch of my hair or brushing by my hand, it is all so incredibly comforting after not having that in so long. It's done already, but it was short and sweet and keeps me believing there's someone out there for me.

So anyway, I'm cautiously optimistic... let's end off with some little inspirations from some of my favorite songs... Wait wait wait, just looked through my music and all the songs I want to quote here are by the Trews for some reason.... must be in the mood for them. For now I'll make the recommendation that people check them out. Love them.

The Trews:

- Sing Your Heart Out

- The Love You Save

- Man of Two Minds

- End of the Line

Anyway, I'm going to just keep on keeping on... Ha ha ha.... Time for some food, a nap, a meeting, then a soccer game.

Surgery #2 is Done!

So I had surgery last Tuesday and managed to get myself out of the hospital by lunch time. I woke up feeling coming fine and ready to move on out of there. Last time I felt pretty good after surgery, this time I felt even better. I tried this time to go into things calmly however of course the moment they wanted to do my IV I began tearing up and refusing it. I wound up receiving laughing gas in the operating room which calmed me enough to let them put my IV in. Once home I ate a full sub, snacked all day, had visitors, and overall felt great. The only pain I've had is where the hemovac tube goes into my body, other than that I don't even know where the incision was made, no pain there at all!

I've been fairly consistent with practicing Qigong and on Saturday spent 7 hours in a workshop for Qigong where the group circled me and offered a healing which I received well, just the feeling of having so many people wishing me well was a powerful moment. After my day of Qigong I had my nieces over for a sleepover, we went out for dinner, played games, went to watch my soccer game and stayed up late watching movies. It made me feel like life was normal for that 24 hour period.

All week I have been experiencing emotional highs and lows, being happy and full of laughter one moment and crying the next. I have treated some people wonderfully, others not so wonderfully. And strangely enough with all the love and support of my family, friends, soccer team, co-workers, I still somehow feel lonely, but I am trying to have faith that when I am ready things will fall into place on the relationship front.

I went to a social Sunday night and was brave - I wore a bra!! SO SO SO painful, but totally worth it to not have to display how awfully uneven my breasts now are. Again I will put up photo's once I am comfortable with this new shape myself. I looked in the mirror for the first time yesterday and was so sad to see what this has done to my figure. I know it shouldn't matter because I'm healthy and that is the main thing, but it really does matter a lot. It makes me want to cry when I see myself, but I will get over it, and I will be "fixed" physically eventually. For now I'll keep telling myself to love myself regardless of what I look like, my body isn't as important as my health.

Inspired by Another's Woman's Journey

I have learned how to more fully appreciate life through my own health scare, but I saw it even more deeply this weekend during my own path to healing. At work about a month ago we had a man come in to tell us about Qigong, an ancient Chinese practice used for natural healing. He gave us a quick demonstration and talked about the benefits of practicing Qigong for both mental and physical well being. I decided to join several of my coworkers in taking the level one workshops. Strangely enough the workshops fall on the Saturday before my surgery and the Saturday after, worried about the timing of this I asked the man if he thought I would be able to take part in Day 2 of the workshop as it is only 5 days after my surgery, he told me that if anything it would be beneficial so I went ahead with it.

The first day of the Qigong workshop was this past Saturday. It was a strange mixture of people, all different ages, all different sizes, all with different stories, At the beginning of the day we all shared why we were in attendance, one woman's story really made it clear to me just how fortunate I am. She is a beautiful woman with very short gray hair, she looks like she is about the same age as my mom, she shared that she was attending to benefit her own physical and mental health. This was a pretty standard start for everyone else too, however she continued on to share that she has chronic cancer and is hoping for physical healing. Everyone in the room looked very solemn. She then add that she lost her own daughter to cancer about a year ago and so she is also looking for some way of dealing her grief and coping with her emotions. I looked at her and her eyes were glossy but she was smiling, it caught me off guard actually, I think it was hope trying to shine through all of the loss in her life.

Throughout the class we were all urged to have a clear mind, not letting our thoughts take over. At first I couldn't keep the thoughts out of head. I kept thinking 'oh my God, her daughter was probably my age'. I was trying to imagine what it must be like to be battling cancer alongside your daughter and watching your daughter lose the battle before you. So devastating. I kept trying to watch her throughout the series of mindful movements, she looked so graceful. I kept sneaking peaks for the first few hours of the day and she just totally radiates happiness. Through the afternoon I began just trying to quiet my mind and focus only on the movements we were asked to do. At the end of the day we did the Hexagram Dance and at the end the entire class recites a verse:

         " My blood and Qi are flowing smoothly.

          I am filled with peace and joy.

          I am free of pain and illness.

          I am blessed with good fortune."

What a beautiful note to end on. I looked at her as things came to a close and she looked so calm and peaceful. I want that kind of still, tranquil happiness someday. I have never seen such a powerful display of someone accepting the things they can not change. There are six levels of Qigong, each with beautiful names. The 6th and highest level of Qigong is titled "Seeking Nirvana" I think this woman must really be on level 6, she's there.

My surgery is in about 34 hours from now, I think this time around I will appreciate my mom more instead of being frustrating with her nervous chatting. I love her for everything she is and does, she is always there no matter what and I think this time I should sit back and take it all in, every minute with my mom.

I'm going in feeling positive, more calm and looking forward to this process getting closer to being over. I'm also going to experiment with Qigong, I know how I healed from my first surgery without Qigong, I am committing to doing 1-2 hours of Qigong everyday, and I am going to see how I feel this time around since it's the exact same surgery on the exact same body part, we'll see if Qigong really does heal. So I am about to do "the Hexagram dance", "the Grounding Qi", "Love my Body" and "Turning Qi". Then I am going to lay down and hopefully sleep better than I've slept in a long time.

         " My blood and Qi are flowing smoothly.

          I am filled with peace and joy.

          I am free of pain and illness.

          I am blessed with good fortune."

And here we go again...

So since the last time I wrote things were really back and forth about whether or not I would be having more surgery... one appointment the specialist would say I need the other side done, then I didn't, and then finally I did need it - final answer. Frustrating to say the least!

Well a new development... I have super powers and re-grow lumps faster than they can take them out! In mid-December I had an appointment and found out that a new lump developed toward the bottom of the side they already did surgery on, the doctor tells me he no longer wants to do surgery because he'd like to wait and see what it does, which side to do, etc. Granted I'm not a doctor, but my first impulse was to think "see what it will do?! I think my body has already proved that I help  tumors grow!" To make a long story short I had to go for a follow-up in mid-January where it was decided that the second side would be done and we will "keep an eye on" the new one. Last time I checked it was the doctors hands (not eyes) that figured out these suckers meant business... but fine, I'll go with it. So the doctor gives me a surgery date of March 8, 2011. I ask him "March 8th? Last time it was four weeks from the day it was decided surgery was needed." He says yes, that I'm young and healthy, etc, and it shouldn't be a problem to wait until March. Then I see a document sitting on his desk saying "Pathology Report" with my name on it. I ask my specialist what it is and he says my doctor should have gone over that with me at my last appointment, I replied he didn't. Then I look closer and see that my specialist has sent it to the wrong doctor, that's comforting! I tell my specialist it was sent to the wrong doctor, he looks at it and asks who my doctor is; I tell him and he says "ok" and re-addresses it without saying anything else. He wouldn't tell me what it said so I 'sneak a peak' and see it's the pathology report on the first tumor that was removed. I read it as quickly/casually as I can and see that there are still no indications of cancer. PHEW Crystal wins again!

The very next morning I get a call that the doctor has re-reviewed my file, specifically the ultrasound and mammogram and the surgery will now need to be February 15th (exactly 4 weeks later), hmmmm maybe I should become a doctor! Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting this done and still seeing this ultimately as a positive thing in my life. Throughout this my priorities have straightened out because I am a bit more inciteful. I know what I want in life, and I know who in my life matters the most.

Oh and for the record, I'm still holding out hope to fall in love and live a happy, healthy life with someone. This being said I've also realized that just because I am there right now, doesn't mean that the person I'm meant to be with is there yet. I think friendship can take on new significance when there is absolutely no pressure to change it, or to change the people in it, just knowing it is always being built upon, strengthening the relationship and making it more significant. Who knows what can happen... I guess I'm a closet romantic! Friendship is the most important thing in my life though; friendship with both family and non-family. I love me and my life, I loving being who I am and being accepted for who I am by those who know me the best. I look back ten years and don't recognize who I used to be because I don't think I ever really believed my family and friends when they told me I'd grow up and be who I am today. Keeping that in mind, I know I am able to wait patiently over the next ten years for more good things to come my way in life.

I used to write poetry often, but it's been a long time. I don't know how or why, but I pretty much stopped writing out my feelings other than a couple of poems here and there. Lately I've been more focused on the idea of writing a book, but I've also been thinking frequently about beginning to write through my emotions again... maybe it will stop me from SAYING everything and then feeling awkward lol! The last week was an especially tough one, both personally and professionally, and it has forced me to dig deep and remember what makes me - 'me'. This week has pushed me to fall back on my instincts rather than using my experience or education. I'm trying to come from the heart and it has crossed my mind to write everything out. So, I think in between the updates on my health and life I am going to share some of my other writing on this site. Hope you'll enjoy them!